Beams of Light on Early Methodism in America. Chiefly Drawn from the Diary, Letters, Manuscripts, Documents, and Original Tracts of the Rev. Ezekiel Cooper.Light on Early MethodismRev. Ezekiel CooperGeo. A. Phoebus, D.D.xiv, 337 p.New York; CincinnatiPhillips & Hunt; Cranston & Stowe1887Call number 287 C776P
(Divinity School Library, Duke University Libraries)

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THIS work was written for the purpose of giving
the student of the history of the Methodist Episcopal
Church facts concerning her early years that
are essential to a clear understanding of them. These
facts have been gathered from the documents, letters,
tracts, and diary of that venerable man of God, Rev.
Ezekiel Cooper, and after his decease transmitted to
his nephew and heir at law, the honored Rev. Ignatius
T. Cooper, D.D., late of Camden, Delaware, who
held them until April, 1884, when he was called to
join his uncle in the courts above, leaving the papers
hereof spoken in the hands of his son, Ezekiel W.
Cooper, M.D., also of Camden, who now holds them
in possession.

Desiring to furnish the reader with such statements
as are vested with full authority, the character
and standing of these Christian ministers should be
acknowledged and recorded.

Of the uncle, Rev. Ezekiel Cooper, Rev. Daniel
Curry, D.D., LL.D., has spoken in the Introduction,
and frequent allusion is made to him in the volume
now submitted to the public. Of Rev. Ignatius T.
Cooper, D.D., by whose kindness the writer received
and held the documents for several years, it may be
said: He was a man of God; for fifty-five years led
the life of a pure and devoted Christian; for twenty-five
years served the Methodist Episcopal Church in
the act work of the itinerancy, was an able and
impressive preacher, a wise counsellor, to whom was
intrusted the responsibility of legislation in the
Church of his choice, and was, as his biographer
truthfully remarked, “A man of unbending principle,
of positive convictions, and uttered his sentiments
fearlessly, but with a dignity becoming the
lofty character which he sustained. A warm advocate
of temperance, and every progressive movement
in moral reform, he was unswerving in his devotion
to the cause he espoused.” He fell asleep in Jesus
on the 12th of April, 1884, in the seventy-ninth year
of his age.

These papers, falling into his hands, were religiously
preserved, and were loaned to the compiler of
this volume, who in order to obtain them was led to
give a written obligation to preserve them undefiled,
and to return them without loss of any one of them
when called upon to do so.

Among the facts drawn from these papers are
some that give proof to the Methodist of the
present day that the early days of our Church were
not altogether free from care and anxiety in relation
to the harmony of the preachers and laymen.
This is illustrated in the disunion in Philadelphia,
which caused the removal of the Book Concern from
that city; the disharmony at Lynn, Mass., which led
to the stationing of one of the preachers in a field
of labor unheard of in the annals of the Church before
or since—Rev. Jesse Lee being appointed to the
Province of Maine, and Lynn, Mass. Other instances
are also recited, but none without reliable
testimony to account for the causes producing the
disorder.

The reader will also find valuable letters, from our
Church Fathers, that have not hitherto been published,
and in their perusal will gain knowledge of
the various interests of the Church, her cares, sacrifices,
triumphs, and prospects in those early days.
Among them he will find letters from Bishops Asbury
and Coke, and others; and by them all may be
edified and instructed.

G. A. P.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY LIFE AND EXPERIENCE OF EZEKIEL COOPER.

Place and date of his birth—His parents—State of religion—The influence of his mother—The Reformed Quakers—The Methodists in that field in 1776—Freeborn Garrettson there—Convicted of sin through Garrettson—Religious waverings—Again convicted in 1780—Heart troubles—Converted in 1781—Joined the Methodists in 1782—Called to preach—Exercise of mind thereunder—Took up the cross in 1784—Won a brilliant fame in the Church. . . . . 11

CHAPTER II.
CAROLINE, KENT, AND LONG ISLAND CIRCUITS, 1784-1786.

Quarterly meeting at Barratt's Chapel, Delaware, Nov., 1784—Caroline Circuit, 1784—Kent Circuit, 1785—Petition against a poll-tax—Historic value of the summary given—Spirit of revival on the circuit—Quarterly meeting at Dudley's—Long Island Circuit, and New York—A week in New York—Outline of Long Island Circuit—John Hagerty, elder on Long Island Circuit—Methodism in New York—Order of ministerial service—Children's meetings—Rev. Mr.
Lynch—One hundred prisoners in New York ask for prayer—Methodism on Long Island Circuit—Nehemiah Brush—John Wicks—Bread and Cheese Hollow—Philip Ellis—Esquire Edsell—Flushing—Quarterly Meeting at Hempstead Harbor—Benjamin Raynor—Wier
Cormack—Quarterly Meeting at David Furman's—Flemington—Methodism introduced into Jamaica, L. I. Rev. Jacob Brush visits Long Island Circuit—Jerusalem—Rockaway and Searingtown—Quarterly Meeting at Searingtown . . . . . 22

CHAPTER III.
EAST JERSEY CIRCUIT, 1786.

Four Circuits in the State of New Jersey in 1786—List of charges on East Jersey Circuit in June, 1786—Opposition to the Methodists—Letters from New York, Long Island, and Newark Circuits—Methodist preachers using the churches of the Episcopal Church—Rev. Mr. Ogden—Mr. Cooper invited to take Orders in the Episcopal Church—Methodism introduced into Reading, Pa., in 1786—Also in Germantown, Pa.—Letter of E. Cooper to a member of the New Jersey House of Assembly against sin—Methodism planted in Newburgh, Pa.—Also in Bethlehem, Pa.—In Goshen—Second Quarterly Meeting for East Jersey Circuit, 1786—Methodism at Hughes's Forge; Debate with Judge Hughes—Third Quarterly Meeting at Mr. McCullock's, near Reading—A visit to Trenton Circuit—Also to West Jersey Circuit—The Methodists opposed at certain points on East Jersey
Circuit . . . . . 46

CHAPTER IV.
TRENTON CIRCUIT, 1787.

The charges within the bounds of the Circuit—A survey of the
Circuit—Singing without lining—State of religion in Burlington—Rev. Messrs. Spragg, Wilson, and General Lacey—Heroism of a Mr. Allen—Rev. Mr. Ayres, of Spottswood, Pa.—A controversy—Quarterly
meetings at Hopewell, Freehold, Manahawkin, New-Mills, Joseph
Hutchinson's—Mr. Francis at Middletown Point—Richard Ellis—At Allentown, Pa.—Controversy with Rev. Mr. Clark, the rector, about Methodists preaching in his parish—The Episcopal Church at Shrewsbury used by the Methodists—Efforts to secure Methodist churches . . . . . 70

CHAPTER V.
METHODISM IN BALTIMORE, MD., 1788, 1789.

Session of Philadelphia Annual Conference of 1788—Drs. Rush and Clarkson before the Body bearing testimony against the use of spirituous liquors—E. Cooper and Francis Spry assigned to Baltimore—Number of preaching-places within the charge—Baltimore made a station—Account of a great revival in Baltimore—Services under Rev. Nelson Reed, presiding elder, and others—Rev. John Hagerty,
from Annapolis, also assisting—Opposition to the revival exercises—“We worship God as if the devil was in us” The zeal of all the members of the Church—Benefit of pastoral visitation—“Shouting and noise”—The home of every Methodist was like a church—Prayer-meetings—Thomas Foster stationed at the Point in 1789—The Quarterly Meeting held August 8, 1789—Scene at W. Buchanan's—At N. Jones's—In the Church—Conversion of Jonathan Dagan and Jacob Welch—Watch-night service at Capt. C. Ridgeley's—Number of conversions, and members added to the Church—Children converted and brought into the Church—Mr. Cooper's personal reflections during this pastorate—Philip Rogers and others—Rev. Francis Spry—Band-meetings—Care for children . . . . . 84

CHAPTER VI.
METHODISM IN ANNAPOLIS, MD., 1789, 1790.

Annapolis in 1789—Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 129 whites, 140 colored—Order of religious services in the Methodist Episcopal Church—The annual public races—Debate in the Maryland Legislature: Freedom—The subject discussed in the Maryland Gazette—Also from the Methodist pulpit—Effect of the discussion—An effort by some to make a law incorporating the Church in Maryland with the State—Letter of Bishop Asbury—Mr. Cooper embarrassed by domestic affliction—Kindness of his brethren in Annapolis—Letter from Rev. Jesse Lee—Agents of the Society in Annapolis for the Spread of the Gospel—Pageantry denounced—Letter from Bishop Coke, LL.D.—Letter of E. Cooper to Rev. John Wesley, A.M.—Letter from Rev. Emory Pryor—Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Rollings—Fighting about a preacher—Internal strife over the Church Council and Constitution—Letter of E. Cooper to Bishop Asbury—Action of the Annual Conference at Smyrna, Del., in 1790, on the Council—Letter from Bishop Asbury to E. Cooper. . . . . . 104

CHAPTER VII.
METHODISM IN ALEXANDRIA, VA., 1791, 1792.

Early history—Visit of Bishops Coke and Asbury to General Washington—General Roberdeau—Bishop Asbury provides for a church building—District Conference held there in 1791—Trial of a slave for murder—Order of religious exercises—Some of the members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church—Christian affinity: Rev. Mr. Muir—Montgomery Quarterly Meeting—Colonel Ormes—Letter to Bishop Asbury concerning Mrs. Harris—Letter from Bishop Asbury on the call for General Conference, 1792—Conference at Alexandria—Baltimore and Duck Creek Conferences—Revival spirit in Alexandria—Poheck Protestant Episcopal Church—Methodists of Alexandria opposed by the Baptists—Small pox epidemic—Quarterly Meeting at Rev. Joseph Pigman's—Other Quarterly Meetings—Letter from E. Cooper to Bishop Coke—Reply of Dr. Coke—Oxon Hill Methodist Episcopal Church—Quarterly Meetings on the district during the winter—A member expelled from “Society” for marrying an unawakened
man—Letter of Rev. Thomas Morrell—Letter of Rev. Jesse Lee—Mr. Cooper called to Charleston, S. C.—Closing scenes of his ministerial work in Alexandria . . . . . 121

CHAPTER VIII.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN CHARLESTON,
S. C., AND IN NEW ENGLAND, 1792, 1793.

Condition of the work in Charleston—William Hammett's dispute with Thomas Morrell—Treatment received by a woman under conviction for sin—A malignant fever prevalent, by reason whereof Mr. Cooper is removed—A visit to New York, Heightstown, Allentown, Philadelphia—Samuel Emly—General Conference of 1792 at Baltimore—Mr. Cooper's Journey to Boston—A season of religious joy at
Tolland, Conn.—The journey to Boston resumed—John Allen, a disaffected Methodist preacher—The pastorate of Boston assumed—State of Methodism in Boston in 1792—Methodism in Lynn—Leading Methodists in Boston—Discipline not enforced at Lynn—Arranging for building a church in Boston—Petition to use the school-house—Relations between the Episcopal and Methodist Episcopal Churches in Boston—Controversy between Arminians and Calvinists—Growth of religion in Boston—The first love-feast in Boston—The Annual Conference at Lynn in 1793 . . . . . 148

CHAPTER IX.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN NEW ENGLAND,
CONTINUED, 1793, 1794.

The Conference at Lynn—Trouble in stationing the preachers—Rev. Jesse Lee's course—Note—The district over which Mr. Cooper
was presiding elder—Controversy with Rev. Mr. Sherman, of Lynn—Salem, New Mills, and other places visited—Mr. Cooper pastor at Lynn, as well as presiding elder—How the work there was attended when the presiding elder was at another point on his district—Manchester and Ipswich Hamlet—Quarterly meeting at Needham—Mrs. Blanchard, of Mansfield—Quarterly Meeting on Warren Circuit,—Greenwich circuit, Judge Philips of Newtown—Lynn Circuit, Marblehead—Bereft of pastoral visiting—Historic review of the work on the district for the year—Boston, Needham, Lynn—Early
Methodism in Lynn—Society parish meeting—Lynn Methodists sought after by the Episcopalians—Letter from Bishop Asbury—Mr. Cooper stationed in New York . . . . . 168

CHAPTER X.
METHODISM IN NEW YORK AND VICINITY, 1794, 1795.

State of the Society in New York—Pastoral visiting—The Church in Brooklyn—Burial of E. Cooper's mother—Widow Gray—Christmas-day observance and other religious services—New Year's services in New York and Brooklyn—Liberality of Mr. McKenness, the British agent in New York—Sacramental services in the New York churches every month—Quarterly concert of prayer—Pastoral visiting—Letter
from Bishop Asbury—Ministering to prisoners in the City Jail—Thanksgiving-day—A sermon for New York deists—Letter from Rev. Lawrence McCombs—Election of trustees of the Church in New York—Letter of Bishop Coke—“Moving-day”—Long Island Circuit—Manitou Well—Quarterly meeting at Comack—Whitsunday among the Methodists—“Quarter-day”—Elizabeth, N. J.—Ministerial visitants in New York—Bishop Asbury's visit and work—Quarterly meeting at New Windsor—Dr. Anderson at Bellevue Hospital—New York Society for Suppressing Vice . . . . . 192

CHAPTER XI.
METHODISM IN PHILADELPHIA AND VICINITY, 1796.

African Church in Philadelphia—Mr. Cooper assistant to Rev. John McCloskey—Father Abbott—Excursion through New Jersey—The Society at Mr. Burgh's, near Monmouth Court House—Mr. Cooper preaching in the Presbyterian and Episcopal churches in Philadelphia—Methodism in Germantown, Pa.—“Chartered Fund” instrument
drawn up—Mr. Cooper and Wilson Lee stationed in Philadelphia, 1796—The importance of Philadelphia at this time—Dr. David Rittenhouse—Funeral of Mrs. Brown and three children—General Washington—Inauguration of President Adams—Why Mr. Cooper did not
go to Pittsburg—The first Methodist Society in Germantown, Pa.—Yellow fever in Philadelphia—Conference of 1797, in Smyrna, Del.—Committee on printing-business . . . . . 217

CHAPTER XII.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN WILMINGTON,
DEL., AND VICINITY, 1797, 1798.

Methodism in Wilmington—Letter from Bishop Asbury—Mrs. Wright, of Baltimore—Fraternal spirit of the Wilmingtonians—Letters of Bishop Coke, D.D.—He visits the Society at Wilmington—Meeting of the Book Committee in Philadelphia—Visit to New York—Methodism in Newport, Del.—Revival spirit in Wilmington—Philadelphia Annual Conference of 1798—Yellow fever in Wilmington—Cecil Quarterly Meeting—Death of Rev. John Dickins—Letter of Richard Allen—Letter of Bishop Asbury—. . . . . 236

CHAPTER XIII.
THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN.

Early circulation of religious books by American Methodists—Conference action in 1782—Action of 1784—Book stewards appointed—Official title of superintendent adopted in 1790—“Book Concern” appears first in Minutes of 1792—The Book Concern the depositor of the Preachers' and Chartered Fund—John Dickins—Philip Cox—Other sub-agents—Book-rooms—First publications by Mr. Dickins—Ezekiel Cooper appointed superintendent of Book Concern—He declines to assume the charge for awhile—Letter of Bishop Asbury to him—Letter of Jesse Lee—The Philadelphia Annual Conference elected Mr. Cooper as agent in 1799—Address of the agent to the Church—Embarrassments—General Conference of 1800—The superintendent begins to visit the several Annual Conferences—Cause of removal of Book Concern from Philadelphia—Letters from Bishops Asbury and Whatcoat—Another letter from Bishop Asbury—The Philadelphia Annual Conference of 1801 attempts to pacify the Society
at St. George's, Philadelphia, but fails—A third letter from
Bishop Asbury—Founding of the Union Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia—Interests of Book Concern increasing—Book Committee of 1802—Extract from Conference Minutes of 1802, first edition—The Book Concern ordered to be removed to Baltimore in 1803—Letter of Bishop Asbury to the Superintendent—Reasons for declining to move to Baltimore—The Book Concern located at New York by the
General Conference of 1804—Plan of operation under E. Cooper, General Agent, and John Wilson, Assistant—Letter of Bishop Asbury . . . . . 256

CHAPTER XIV.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA,
1799-1804.

Account of the disorder in the Methodist Society in the city—Long-a-Coming—Dr. Coke's visit to the city in 1800—Mr. Cooper's report of the disorder . . . . . 285

CHAPTER XV.
PRESIDING ELDERSHIP IN THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL
CHURCH.

Eldership in the Methodist Episcopal Church prior to 1792—Title of “Presiding Elder” first used in 1789—Adopted to designate members of the Bishop's Council—Station of preachers as by the Minutes of 1789—The order of stations prior to this division—In the Council of 1790 they were styled Delegated Elders—In 1792 the office of Presiding Elder formally recognized—Attempt to make the office elective—Letter of Bishop Asbury to E. Cooper—The General Conference of 1820 on the election of presiding elders—Committee appointed to confer with the Bishops—Their report to the General Conference—The report adopted—Action of Bishop McKendree—Communication of Rev. J. Soule, Bishop-elect; a protest—Great excitement—The Bishop-elect resigns—The debate on the suspension
of the rule making the office elective—Protest against this action—The agitation after the adjournment of the General Conference—Letter from Bishop George to E. Cooper—Letter from Bishop McKendree to Annual Conferences—Action of the Philadelphia and York Annual Conferences . . . . . 293

ADDENDA.

The struggle for the emancipation of the colored people—Action of the Conference of 1780—Resolutions of the Conferences of 1783 and 1784—Action of the “Christmas Conference,” 1784—Slavery denounced by clergymen—Publications of E. Cooper in Maryland Gazette—Letter to “A Friend to the Union” in Maryland Gazette—Reply to “Abaris” in Maryland Gazette—Letter in Maryland Journal against“Lawyer's Justification of Slavery”—Articles of E. Cooper
in Virginia Gazette—Address of General Conference of 1800, opposed by the rector of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Charleston, S. C., Rev. P. Matthews—Reply of Rev. George Dougherty of the Methodist Episcopal Church—Deposition of Rev. John Harper—Additional statement by Mr. Harper—His letter to Rev. E. Cooper—Letter of Alexander McCaine to George Roberts—Ode on Slavery more than eighty years ago . . . . . 312

INTRODUCTION.

The history of the rise and early growth of Methodism
in America is still very largely unwritten.
Materials from which to construct such a history are
as yet sufficiently abundant, though, no doubt, very
much that once existed and might have been made
available has perished beyond recovery, and what
still remains of original information, whether in the
form of personal reminiscences or of written documents,
letters, memoirs, and crude semi official papers,
is rapidly perishing. The time for enriching that history
from the recollections of individuals has very
nearly passed away, with the generation that lived
among its events and participated in its acts; but
there are still living those who were, in their early life-times,
the contemporaries and associates of those who
made that history, and these heard from their own lips
the stories of their labors and successes, their trials
and their victories. From that resource no doubt valuable
contributions of original historical information
might be obtained were the proper efforts made for
obtaining it; and here, too, there is no time for delay,
for the few survivors of the second generation of
American Methodists are rapidly passing away. The
dew of its youth is being rapidly exhaled by the
strong light and heat of the midday of that wonderful
something called Methodism, and there is need
that what still remains shall he seized and secured
while it is yet practicable.

Happily for the interest of our historical inquiries,
there still remain in existence and within easy reach
valuable collections of private papers, letters, diaries,
and records of personal observations and experiences,
which contain an untold amount of the best
kind of historical data. The art of letter-writing was
in vogue, down to the earlier years of the present
century, to an extent that is now but faintly appreciated.
People were then accustomed to put their
thoughts and feelings into their private epistolary
correspondence in a manner that has since passed
quite out of fashion; and the letters so written and
received were usually carefully filed away, and kept
as choice treasures. Many of these collections of old
letters written by the Methodist fathers are still in
existence, awaiting the examination of the real students
of original Methodist annals. The keeping of
personal journals was also a prevalent practice, in
which, scattered through masses of introspective self-confessions,
may be found nuggets of historical facts,
which, if wrought into the history of those times,
would explain many a hitherto inexplicable puzzle,
and illuminate many an obscure historical entanglement,
and correct not a few misconceptions. Very
much of this kind of material that once existed has,
no doubt, perished beyond recovery; but still very
much remains, and it may be hoped that by the
efforts of associations, and of individual collectors,
most that still remains will he saved from destruction,
and that all further compilers of Methodist histories
will make free use of these original witnesses.

The volume to which this Introduction is prefixed
is the result of an exploration, by a competent student
of Methodist originese, among the papers of one
of the ablest and best of the first generation of the
American Methodist preachers; one who without
ostentation or design, has left on record for the use
of later generations a record of the things which he
certainly knew, and in which he was himself a not
inconsiderable actor. Ezekiel Cooper was a great
man in early Methodism, and his greatness, under
God's grace, was all his own, and not the accidental
outgrowth of official position. As soon as the
Methodist body took organic form, he became one
of its itinerant preachers, and after its incipient organization
by the “Christmas Conference” he became
both an active co-operator in its evangelistic
propagandism and an effective directing agent in
shaping its economy. In both these directions his
influence was clearly manifest from the beginning,
and the expressions which he helped to give to both
the spirit and the form of the then infant Church
have, no doubt, been perpetuated, and American
Methodism is now, in its best features, what it is
because such hands and hearts as his were upon
it during its formative stages. Without a trace of
fanaticism in his nature, he united the devotedness of
a saint with the zeal of an apostle; and while in the
presence of rightful authority he was obedient as a
son in the Gospel, he never failed to assert his own
manhood, nor consented to sink the rights of the
individual in deference to the demands of official
greatness.

Students of ecclesiastical history have found out
that in the conflicts of the early Church the right
was not always the exclusive possession of either
party, and some have come to believe that the signatures
of “orthodoxy” and “catholicity,” in the
times of the Fathers and the early councils, were simply
the records of the greater number of votes in a
nonrepresentative body, or the personal preferences
of certain individuals of commanding places or personalities.
So, too, it is becoming more and more evident,
as the oldest Methodist authorities are brought
to the light, that many things in our Church's economy
now claimed to belong to the essence of the system,
so that to call them in question is stigmatized
as disloyalty, and to fail to sustain them must be
accounted as infidelity to the system were not
originally favored by many—apparently the most—of the best men of the golden age of primitive Methodism.
As there were divisions and contentions
among the apostles, and factions in the apostolic
Churches, so the first Methodist bishops were not
always of one mind, and each had his friends and
supporters among those who served under them.
But they were good men, and could yield their own
preferences for the sake of the common interest, or
else they could win forbearance, with even unwarrantable
self-assumption, by greater zeal and more abundant
labors and sacrifices.

These pages, and especially Mr. Cooper's accounts
of his own methods as an evangelist and the success
that attended his labors, are full of suggestions in respect
to the great questions of bringing the Gospel, in
its saving efficacy, to those that are farthest from these
things. It is seen in these accounts that, first of all,
he went to the people, wherever they were found,
and delivered to them the message of the Gospel.
The available appliances for prosecuting evangelistic
work were the most meager that can be conceived.
There were very few houses of worship of
any kind, and these were usually closed to the Methodist
itinerants; nor were there other places in which
considerably large congregations could he accommodated.
In warm weather their services were sometimes
held in the open air; but in most cases private
dwellings were utilized as preaching-places, and for all
other forms of their religious exercises. The disadvantages
of this condition of things were perhaps not
so serious as they may seem, for the companies so
gathered were usually small, and the people were not
accustomed to better accommodations. The coming
of the preacher broke in upon the monotony of the
hamlet or neighborhood, and the novelty
of a “preaching,” sufficed to bring the people together.
But the preacher had to contribute every
thing to the service, and the reading and singing, not
less than the praying and the preaching, devolved on
him alone. It appears, also, that, as to its matter,
the preaching was of the plainest character, without
any labored expositions, or arguments to prove
the truth of Christianity, or even an intimation that there
could be any possible doubts or questionings respecting
the things declared; the simple verities of the
Gospel were stated; men were told that they were sinners,
and that the wages of sin was death; that Christ
came into the world to save them from sin and death,
and that all who would might come to him and be
saved; while in the back-ground rose to view the
fearful menace of eternal death for all who should
neglect this great salvation. And these things were
told not as a formal message, but rather as an earnest
plea, with urgent exhortations, made all the more
persuasive by the abiding expectation in the heart
of the preacher that the word would not fail of its
proper results. They expected to succeed, and spake
and acted accordingly, and they were not often entirely
disappointed. In the present widely changed
condition of things it may not be possible to reproduce
these proceedings, and so to achieve like results;
and yet it may be questioned whether the prevailing
methods of preaching are any improvement
upon those of earlier times, and the want of the expectation
of speedy results is itself an occasion of
unsuccess.

Another thing, quite remarkable, seen in these
memoranda, is the action of these preachers in respect
to slave-holding. The standing declaration of the
Discipline committed the Church to “the extirpation
of the great evil of slavery;” and among its practical
regulations was a scheme looking to the emancipation
of all slaves owned by the members of the Church.
The preachers, acting in harmony with the law of the
Church, set themselves actively to denounce slave-holding
as contrary to the spirit of Christianity, and
entirely incompatible with the religious life to which
all Methodists were, by their profession, consecrated.
Their testimony was, in most cases, accepted by the
people as just and right, and not a few in Maryland
and some in Virginia emancipated their slaves—some at once and others gradually. The Fourth of
July, 1790, fell on Sunday, and the occasion was used
for the public expression of the sentiment of the
Church against slavery, as at once opposed to the
Gospel and to the spirit of American liberty. Of
course some opposed, but the prevailing sentiment of
people in and out of the Church was favorable.
Mr. Cooper tells of the responses made to the declaration
of the preachers, which were such as to show
that the convictions of the people were at first with
them. But with the abatement of the public zeal in
favor of freedom and equality for all men, and the
growth of cupidity and worldliness among professed
Christians, the testimony against “the great
evil” became fainter, and the law of the Church was
suspended, or made practically inoperative, till at
length the Church was rent asunder by it, and at last
deliverance came at once to the Church and the country
in the throes of civil war, and with a terrible baptism
of blood—a fearful lesson concerning the folly
of tampering with wrong for the sake of temporary
advantages.

It is well known to all who have examined the
early history of the Methodist Episcopal Church
found in original records, instead of trusting wholly
to its prepared histories, that there were not infrequently
wide differences of view among its great
leaders, which sometimes occasioned earnest conflicts,
and in more than a single case resulted in disastrous
divisions and permanent alienations. And of all
such disturbing causes, those relating to the power of
making the appointments of the preachers to their
several fields of labor has, no doubt, been the most
active and persistent, for it continues to the present
time. Mr. Wesley claimed and exercised absolute
authority in the assignment of their fields to his
“helpers,” as he had the legal right to do, since he
had himself created the system, and each preacher
had accepted his place with a clear understanding of
its condition. The expediency of such a method
would be a proper subject of inquiry in the proper
place, and it may be said, in passing, that perhaps no
other method could have been successfully used, in the
then existing conditions. It can scarcely he doubted,
however, that in his later years, when the number of
the preachers had become large—and among them
were found not a few able and judicious men,
whose counsels, if called for, could not have failed to
be reliable—he might have lightened his own burdens
and greatly strengthened his“connection,” by sharing
his autocratic powers with them. Mr. Asbury,
both from his admiration for Mr. Wesley's wisdom,
which seemed to him to be worthy of the closest following,
and no doubt from his own instincts, wished
to hold the appointing power in his own hands exclusively,
and this he did, consenting to share it only
with those whom the General Conference placed by
his side with equal authority with himself. Perhaps
even here he would have preferred that his associates
in the superintendency should have been constituted
his suffragans, rather than his equals and co-ordinates.
These high claims were not always quietly acceded
to; they are still submitted to only under protest by
thousands of earnest and loyal Methodist ministers,
who prefer to submit their own preference, and if
needful, to forego their natural rights, rather than
disturb the peace of the Church, and so hinder the
work of saving souls and edifying the body of Christ.
Mr. Asbury's authority as a leader was also very
much strengthened by the fact that he used it, not
for his own ease or emolument, but solely for the
promotion of his great work, and that while he laid
heavy burdens upon the preachers, he did not spare
himself, but labored and suffered beyond almost any
others.

But from the beginning there were complaints, and
widespread dissatisfactions, and efforts toward some
modification of the power of the episcopacy in making
the appointments, which was certainly favored by some
of the ablest and truest fathers of the Church, including
Dr. Coke and others of the early bishops. But the
superintendency, at an early day, fell almost exclusively
into Mr. Asbury's hands; the preachers were fully
occupied with their evangelistic work, and there was
at first no General Conference, and later, none well-organized
and constituted, and administrative affairs
were left to drift on, and to become solidified in their
form by usage and common consent. This tendency
also became intensified and its assumptions confirmed
by the very opposition made to it; as in the case of
O'Kelly, who finding his not unreasonable demands
denied, separated himself and his adherents from the
body, and of course their cause was sacrificed by
their violence and impatience. The readers of the
following pages will see what were Mr. Cooper's
views of this and other questions of Church polity
and administration; and they will see in his conduct
a noble example of fidelity to the Church, even when
his own preferences were held in abeyance.

The book herewith now given to the public is
fittingly entitled Light on Early Methodism, for it
opens a window that looks out upon scenes of which
the Church has had but very imperfect knowledge,
and which, as partially disclosed, have not always appeared
in altogether truthful aspects. We have hadour heroic histories—stories of sacrifices and successes—worthily achieved by heroic men; but the time has come for taking broader views, and for properly estimating the purposes and the actions of those who,
under God, laid the foundation and began the construction
of the godly edifice of organic Methodism;
and as that structure is still in process of building,
the things here brought into view may be useful in
the prosecution of that work: and only good will
come from such efforts if they be made in the spirit
of devotion to the work of God and of loyalty to
Methodism which actuated him who stands forth as
the most prominent figure in these pages.

D. C.NEW YORK,June, 1887.
LIGHT
ON
EARLY METHODISM IN AMERICA.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY LIFE AND EXPERIENCE OF EZEKIEL COOPER.

THE history of the Methodist Episcopal Church has
been carefully, eloquently, and, in the main, accurately
given by her historians, especially by Nathan Bangs,
D.D., and Abel Stevens, LL.D., and the library of no
Methodist can be complete without them. But there
are historic data, to which they had not access, that disclose
facts of such importance as to render those valuable
works deficient. The design of the writer is to supply
the deficiency by giving to the reader facts gathered
from the diary, documents, and letters, written
and preserved by the venerable Rev. Ezekiel Cooper
and his heirs at law.

The period embraced in the examination is, chiefly,
from the year 1784 to 1809, and, as far as is practicable,
the words of the authors quoted will be set forth
as written by them. An outline of the early life and
experience of Mr. Cooper is first in order.

In 1791, at the request of Bishop Asbury, he wrote,
A Short Account of the Life and Experience of Ezekiel
Cooper. He says therein:

I was born in Caroline County, in the State of Maryland, on the
22d day of February, in the year of our Lord 1763. My parents,
Richard Cooper and Ann, his wife, were plain people, in easy and
plentiful circumstances in life. They were hospitable to strangers
and benevolent to the indigent. They were of the Church of
England by profession, into which they had all their children initiated
in infancy by the ordinance of baptism. I was raised a member
of that Church, as were all my brothers and sisters. But, sorrowful
to relate, we were all too great strangers to any thing truly
spiritual. We had a name to live while we were dead; professing
Christ, but in works denying him. Religion in those days, in our
parts, appeared to be universally neglected. It was almost a miracle
to find a man of real piety. The land truly mourned by reason of
wickedness and the neglect of religion. Very few knew how to teach
their neighbors, and those who knew very seldom attempted it; but
we were all members of the Church.

I was early put to school, where I made the usual progress in
learning. Here I thought, to be like some other boys, I would learn
to swear, and attempted it a few times; but such remorse of conscience
seized me that I renounced it forever, and ever after shuddered
at the crime. I was, from my earliest recollection, remarkably attached
to truth both in myself and others. I never could knowingly give
way to lying, in jest or any other way, and felt a contempt of it in
others. The principles of injustice, evil-speaking, slandering, etc., I
ever abhorred; also what were generally called the profane and scandalous
evils of every kind, I flew from with indignation. I believe
this was principally owing to my mother's fixing, by her instruction,
in my tender mind, a prejudice against those things. She was very
moral—what the world calls “a very good woman”—and had, I believe,
a measure of the fear of God before her eyes. Her attention
was particularly paid to the external conduct of her children; she
would always correct profaneness in any of them, and restrain us
from what to her appeared wrong.

Though I was thus kept within tolerable bounds, yet I pursued
many things that led me on in the way to death and hell. Many
tempers in my heart and practices in my life showed clearly my
depraved state, and that I was unfit to die and go to judgment. I
believe a proud spirit was one of my most besetting sins through all
my youth. My mother would frequently say,“Ah! Ezekiel, you
are the proudest child I've got.” I dearly loved my mother and
truly feared her, by which principles I was led to carefully avoid
giving her displeasure. This was a means of considerable restraint
upon me. Nothing affected me more than to grieve her. I was also
ambitious of securing her approbation as a dutiful child, which I
obtained.

Very early in life I had divine impressions, and my mind was frequently
drawn in a tender manner to fear, love, and serve my Maker;
but I knew scarcely any thing about the matter, more than I would
have awful thoughts of God, of another world, of death, etc. The
first people that I remember taking notice of as a good people were
the Nicholites, or Reformed Quakers. But I had no conception of a
change of nature, or the new birth. I concluded that their religious
life was by the force of natural resolution not to give way to sin, but
to attend to their religious duties; I thought they all had the same
desires or propensities to evil that other people had. This was my
ignorance, not knowing the things of God, nor the power of grace in
changing the heart.

It was early in my youth, about my thirteenth year, when I first
had an opportunity of hearing the Methodist preachers. This was
at their first coming into our neighborhood. One came to our house,
Mr. Freeborn Garrettson, whose life and conversation made a remarkable
impression on my mind. He obtained liberty to preach the next
day, but I recollect that my mother was very uneasy that he came at
that time, because it was muster-day in one or our old fields, when
two captains met together with their companies on Saturdays. For
that reason she wanted to put the preaching off; however, it was
fixed and the neighborhood notified. When the hour of preaching
came on the captains marched their company into the yard and
grounded their arms under two large shade trees, and the people in
general heard very civilly and decently. My conviction was more
and more increased. I felt the drawings of the Spirit powerfully in
my soul. I wished to be a Christian, felt much concerned that I was
not as good as I ought to be, and resolved to try and be good. But
O! I knew not what to do, and had no instructor among men. My
father at this time was dead, and my mother married to her second
husband, who was a violent enemy to the Methodists as a people,
who, as he supposed, were enemies to the country. Preaching was
not continued in the neighborhood near our house, so that I rarely
heard preaching; neither had I any opportunity of conversing with
any religious people or receiving any human aid whatever; but, on
the contrary, there were many things to draw me from my concern
and to lead me into vanity, which in time succeeded.

During this concern, which lasted for some time, I used to converse
freely with one of our Negro men, who was also concerned
upon the subject. But he knew no more than myself; we could
neither instruct the other in the nature of true religion. O, how I
lamented my state! But I kept it all to myself, excepting the Negro
man above mentioned. My secret mourning was, O that I was a
Christian, and a righteous person, like the preacher—that servant of
God. I believed the truth of that doctrine, the knowledge of sins
forgiven, the witness of acceptance with God, etc., but how it was I
could not tell nor conjecture.

In the neighborhood the people made a great noise about these new
preachers, who were preaching up a strange doctrine, as they called
it. Some would positively have it they were the false prophets. All
manner of evil was busily circulated, to and fro, concerning them.
It grieved me that those whom I believed innocent men should be
thus slandered. But so it is; the most righteous are generally the
hatred and scorn of wicked men. My love was very great toward
the preachers. I thought them to be the holy ones of the earth.

Once I rode with J. H. and S. M. some distance as they were going
to their preaching place. One of them fell into conversation with
me about my soul. I was glad of it, but did not know what to say.
I told him that I wished to be good. He gave me counsel which I
hoped at that time to take. Before we parted he told me to read
Eccl. xii, 1, which I did on my return home; where I found, “Remember
now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil
days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have
no pleasure in them.” The reading of those words and the conversation
of the preacher rested upon my mind for a long time; indeed
I never expect to forget it, in time or eternity. I believed the truth,
but could not comprehend it. The mystery of godliness was great.
I wanted a Philip, like the eunuch of old, to teach me, but I had no
one. I wished further instruction, but could not get it. My cry was,
“O that I knew the work of God! O that I was a child of God!” I
was somewhat like Samuel; the Lord called, but I knew not the nature
of his voice. I heard, but did not understand. By and by, having
no opportunities, no preaching, no means of furtherance in the
ways of truth, I began to grow cold and careless, and was by degrees
led captive into wickedness.

When I reflect on my condition I sensibly feel pity for those who
are in the predicament in which I was—wanting help and not being able to obtain it. I became quite careless, but often remembered those seasons of visitation with a troubled heart. Some time after this
regular preaching was had in the neighborhood, but none of our
family ever went, unless there was some particular meeting or burying.
Indeed, we seldom knew the day of preaching, though within a
few miles; such was our carelessness. I was now traveling on
cheerfully in the way to eternal sorrow, pursuing my sin and vanity
against the dictates of my conscience; though I must observe that
the continual remonstrances of conscience, drawn from reason and
Scripture, was a means of deterring me from many evils which
otherwise I should, doubtless, have run into. My state was truly
unhappy: I had fled from the Shepherd and Bishop of my soul, cast
off his fear, was wandering in the wilderness, and knew not whither
I was going, but felt conscious of the fact that I was not going to
heaven. My propensity led me into young company, where my mind
was, more and more, set on vanity and levity. I continued to go on
in this way for four or five years.

In my greatest folly I felt a particular love for religious people,
and watched their conduct very attentively. When in their presence
I always felt strangely, and was almost afraid to speak or do any
thing lest they should see cause to reprove me for wrong-doing. I
looked for something very extraordinary in their life and conversation;
if I saw any of them to be light or trifling in the least, I was
ready to doubt their Christianity, believing that true religion made
men holy, solemn, and devoted, that it delivered them from levity and
all unguardedness of word and action. I may here observe, that
like many I feared the people of God more than God himself, inasmuch
as I would do things in His presence that I would not do in
theirs. However, I rarely went among them.

In the year 1780, being then in my eighteenth year, I ran into vanity
more than ever. My greatest delight was to be where I was the
most hurt; but now my race of sin was almost run. In the fall of
the year I was so clearly convinced of my duty and danger, by a
sermon which I heard, that I covenanted with God to set out once more
to seek the way to life. There was something peculiar in my re-alarm,
namely: A certain preacher, whom the people, generally,
thought to be a great speaker, was to preach near us. Our family
seldom went to preaching, but on this day several concluded to go.
In the morning, about nine o'clock, I got vexed by some circumstances
in the family, and resolved not to go to preaching that day; but
when the time drew nigh, mother sent one of the servants for me to
come and go with them. Here I was in a strait: was afraid to refuse,
lest I should disoblige her, which I was unwilling to do. At
length I submitted to go. While I sat and heard the word, the thought came very plainly to me that my repugnance to attend the preaching
was the devil's work. That day the way of life was made so plain to my
understanding that I formed a determination, by God's grace, to seek
the salvation of my soul. It appeared to me that if I now refused I
should never, hereafter, be able to return. I saw that hell was my
doom forever unless I embraced the hope set before me. Now appeared
“the acceptable time,” and “day of salvation.” I found a great
struggle, but the sound through my mind continued, “Turn to God or
bear his wrath,” The world flesh, and devil were strongly against me,
to draw me back from my purpose, to charm me into the neglect of
duty, and to fill me with levity and the desire of company; but considering
nothing more uncertain than life, and that the door of mercy
might be shut, I resolved, “God help me, and I will serve Thee!”
I took to reading the Scriptures, and to private prayer. I kept my
resolution and concern to myself, being ashamed, as yet, to let any
body know that I intended to be religious. But I found it could
not be kept secret; that I should lose my concern unless I was bold
and open. Various were my difficulties; I was like a ship upon the
tempestuous ocean, at times almost overwhelmed with the billows
of temptation.

I frequently got off my guard when among my young acquaintances;
their influence led me to do that which grieved the Spirit,
and filled me with condemnation. At length I saw I must give up
my gay company or be prevented from going on in religion, and lose
my soul at last. Thus I continued in an unsettled frame of mind
until—at the time called Christmas—finding that the worldly companionship
of my young acquaintances led me into unguarded and
light conversation, I promised to leave such company. I then sat
down in a serious pensive frame, and began to reflect upon my conviction,
until I felt as guilty as a criminal at the bar. My trouble was
like a flood, and my mind as the restless sea. That Scripture came
to me, “If our heart condemn us, God is greater.” I felt condemned,
indeed, and wished myself away. I thought: Hereafter I
never, no never, will give way. But a thought returned, How often
have you concluded thus? and the next time may be as this, and the
time after as that, and so you go on another and another day. It
was then pressed on my mind to break off at that time, and leave
them and their ways. Here I had a severe struggle, while I sat in
silence speaking to no one. At length I concluded it would be no
harder then than at any other time to break through, so I arose to
take my leave of the company. They appeared to be surprised at
my sudden movement, and wished to know what was the matter, and
the cause of my departure. I had not resolution enough to tell them
plainly that I was intent upon bidding such company farewell for the
future; but, in fact, such was my purpose. I was importuned very much
to stay, but I could not consent to their entreaties. “Escape for thy
life,” seemed to be sounding in my ears. They were very little acquainted
with the rending distress I had in my soul. I had a cup to
drink and bread to eat which they thought but little of. I bade
them a solemn and final farewell; resolving, God strengthening me,
never more to shun the cross, but to be in earnest, and unreservedly
to give myself to him and his service.

In January, 1781, I went to live with my brother-in-law, in Queen
Anne County. Here I was as destitute of religious acquaintance as
anywhere else. I associated with but few, as religious people there
were at that time very scarce. Now I was set down by all as a
Methodist; and was thought by some to be needlessly strict. I
thought myself to be unworthy of a name or place among the people
of God. I stood alone, without joining any society, having God alone
for my help. I was diligent in searching the Scriptures, and in private
prayer; my understanding in divine things increased, and the
more clearly I saw the state of my own heart. For months I went
bowed down in mourning before the Lord, believing there was mercy
for me, but not knowing how to secure it. By night I walked the
fields in meditation, and brokenness of heart; or, when all were
sleeping, would frequently pour out my soul in supplication. In the
spring and summer seasons I made the woods my constant resort,
walking and meditating, or reading and praying, sometimes prostrate on my face.

I resolved that, if I never found mercy, I would die crying and
seeking for it. The world appeared as nothing to me, now; I was
dead to almost every desire but that of the “one thing needful.”
I stood some time in this condition, but about the middle of the summer
I grew more slack in my diligence and my concern decreased.
Providentially, under my most careless and declining state, I had a
sermon book put into my hand, in the reading of which my fears
were alarmed, and, if possible, my distress was greater than ever. I
now renewed my covenant, and set out with redoubled diligence,
and nevermore rested until I found Christ formed in my soul “the
hope of glory.”

Between this last stir and my deliverance my sorrows were overwhelming.
My heart was ready to burst asunder with inexpressible
anguish. For several days I seemed careless about the things of
time, scarcely ate or drank with any pleasure; I lay down and rose
up, went out and came in, with my head bowed down under an intolerable
burden. At length my bitterness of soul rose to its extremity.
I was truly weary and heavy laden. I used to prostrate
myself on my face upon the floor and ground. My pain of mind
was more than I knew how to express.

One day, as I was walking alone in the woods, I felt great encouragement.
I knelt down and prayed fervently. Presently I had an
opening to my mind of the infinite fullness of Christ, and of the willingness
of the Father, through his Son, to receive me into his favor.
I had such confidence in the merits of Christ and the mercy of God
that I laid hold of the promise, felt my burden remove, and a flood of
peace, love, and joy break forth in my soul. I was now enabled to
call Christ Lord, by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. I am
assured, to the present moment, that at that time the Lord forgave
me all my sins, and owned me for his adopted child. My heart was
enlarged toward all mankind. I was ready to conclude that I could
convince any or every body of the great truths and necessity of religion.
I wanted an opportunity to warn the world, especially a number
of my irreligious friends. But I found them not to be so easily convinced.
“I work a work,” said God, “which ye will in nowise believe
though a man declare it unto you.”

It was not long before the devil came and powerfully tempted me
to doubt my conversion and regeneration. Under these doubts I
labored for some time; however, I felt the deliverance from guilt,
from the fear of death and hell, a hatred to all sin, and an unspeakable
joy in my soul. O how I needed the help arising from Christian
communion! But I had it not. I resolved to form acquaintance with
the Methodists, and to join society as soon as I conveniently could;
to open my mind to them, hoping to be fully satisfied, yea or nay,
when I heard their experience of the work of grace upon their souls.
During the fall and winter I was considerably among the wicked,
and, consequently, exposed to trials of divers kinds. I had resolution
to reprove them for evil, and not to give way to their folly. My soul
was grieved at evil, when or wherever I saw it.

In the spring I joined society. I found it to be a great blessing,
wondered that I had put it off so long. I believe it was a cunning
device of the devil; the neglect had well-nigh proved very injurious
to me, as I believe it had to many. Class-meeting I found to
be one of the most profitable meetings I attended. We had but
a small class, in a new preaching place, but the Lord frequently
refreshed us with his presence. I believe that I daily advanced in
the divine life, was more and more established in the truth, and
enjoyed a greater and more steadfast confidence in God.

My mind became much impressed that it was my duty to warn
sinners to “flee from the wrath to come.” I suppressed this thought
at first, fearing it might not be a call from God. The more I resisted
the more I was concerned to publicly declare the counsel of God
among men. I used, frequently, to pray in the prayer and class-meetings,
and had great happiness in so doing. The brethren, at
length, made it a constant practice to put me to prayer among them.
My soul was daily alive to God; the time between meetings appeared
long—I was impatient for the time to come when we should go up to
worship before the Lord. Frequently I felt a great willingness, and
almost wished, to be with Christ in glory. I was bold in reproving,
and zealous in inviting sinners in private to turn to the Lord and
seek the salvation of their souls. My earnestness in this soon had
such an effect that it was seldom that any of my acquaintances would
sin within my sight or hearing. This was a particular satisfaction to
me, for sin always grieved me to the heart.

My exercises about preaching increased very fast, until at length
they brought about a real distress of soul. I consulted the most
experienced friends, and opened my mind to the preachers, both local
and traveling. They advised me to make a trial of my gifts. Brother
Freeborn Garrettson, under whom I was first of all awakened, traveled
our circuit about the time of my greatest exercises on this subject.
He appointed me to be class leader at friend P.'s, in Talbot
County, about four miles from the class I had been in before, in
Caroline. I found precious times in meeting the class, the Lord
highly favoring us with his presence. I still neglected speaking in
public as an exhorter or preacher, though a number of friends advised
me to take up the cross; but it was so very great to me that I feared
and trembled at the thought. At length I felt threatening impressions,
as that God would enter into correction if I did not obey—that
some judgment would befall me if I refused to do the work appointed
by the Master. I feared that my gifts were not adequate to the
task; that my abilities were so small and the work so great that I
doubted whether I could ever preach the Gospel of God. Then this
was applied, “Am not I He that sendeth by whom I will send? Dost
thou doubt my promise? Open thy mouth and I will fill it. Go forth
and warn them from me, and declare salvation in my name.” My
uneasiness and anxiety of soul grew to a degree greater by far than I can describe. I put off the duty from time to time till I feared God
would give me up to the devil to be bruised and devoted to misery.
I fell into a languishing state of body, and a dull frame of soul. I
wore away to a mere skeleton; many thought I would die. I continued in this low condition for several months, being incapable of any business.

It was forcibly impressed on my mind that this was a judgment
of chastisement from God. I then entered into covenant that if the
Lord would restore me to my former state of body and mind, I would
preach, provided I felt the same impressions to it.

In January, 1784, I began to recover. As my bodily strength
returned, my engagedness of soul returned; also, my impressions to call upon my fellow-creatures to turn to God.

I was now more than ever confirmed in the impression that it was
the will of God that I should preach. My concern for souls was very
great; my love encircled all mankind; I wanted to see men come
home to God. I wept, as it were, between the porch and the altar;
watered my pillow by night with tears, and went sorrowing all the
day. I thought I could lay down my life, would it prove a means of
turning others to the Lord. I was always sorrowing, yet rejoicing, and growing in grace. My peace of soul and love increased, and, as my love increased, I felt still more distressed for sinners who were “in the gall of bitterness, and the bond of iniquity.” I reproved whoever sinned before me, and improved every opportunity of recommending
religion to all with whom I had intercourse. Very frequently I was
among the opposers of religion. We used to have many altercations
upon the truth of the Methodist doctrine; but the Lord enabled me
to support and prove the truth thereof from Scripture. It was my
constant care to handle all such disputes in mildness and love, and I found it proved much more effectual in convincing and informing the opponents.

It was strange to think how I still put off speaking in public after
that I had suffered so much in mind from that quarter, and was fully
convinced of its being a duty. The cross! the cross! To stand forth,
in the capacity of a gospel teacher, before a concourse of people, and
warn them to flee from the wrath to come, seemed more than I could
stand under. However, I prayed earnestly to God for strength, for
power to take it up, lest, through neglect, I should bring upon myself
swift destruction. At length, being encouraged by one of the preachers
with whom I had been for some days, I ventured, after him, one
Sabbath, to open my mouth in testimony of the gospel truths. Several
hundred were in the assembly; it was at Brother Thomas's
chapel. I spoke but briefly, and trembled under the cross. However,
the Lord gave me matter and words to utter his counsel. I spoke
again that afternoon at Brother M.'s, when I had more liberty, and
spoke twice as long. The Lord attended the few hints to several
hearts; a number wept considerably. I found great joy and satisfaction
in thus submitting to speak for God, though it was not long
before I was tempted that I had probably done hurt. However, I
again, for a few times, spoke after others of our preachers in different
places. I never attempted to have an appointment made for myself,
feeling too much diffidence; nor at any appointment did I attempt to
take a text until I went on the circuit. I believe I never spoke more
than eight or ten times, at most, and then after some one else, until
you (Bishop Asbury) prevailed with me to travel.

It is due to the memory of Ezekiel Cooper, that the
above outline be given to the Church served by him for
more than sixty years. He was one of the most eminent
among the Methodist fathers, and, as will be seen in the
further perusal of these pages, is entitled to the veneration
of all who love the Methodist Episcopal Church.
While no attempt is made herein to give a history of
his life and work, yet he is so closely connected with
the life and work of the Church that his name will
appear, and his acts be recited, in almost every department
of the Church's expansion and field of her operation.
He has left to us not only documents that the Church
will treasure up with gladness, but a personal history
that will blend him with the Church as a husband with
a spouse. To-day, where he is known, his name is as
ointment poured forth.

CHAPTER II.
CAROLINE, KENT, AND LONG ISLAND CIRCUITS. 1784-1786.

IN the preceding chapter we have found Mr.
Cooper, after a severe experience, yielding to the calls
of the Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel; we shall now
follow him in his highly interesting description of the
work upon which he entered, at the very period when
it was determined to organize the Methodist Episcopal
Church in the United States of America. It will be
seen, from the record given below, that at the same
Quarterly Conference, on the same day in which it was
decided to call the preachers together at Baltimore
the ensuing Christmas-day to organize the said Church,
he was appointed by Rev. Francis Asbury to travel
his first circuit. The reader will find items of historic
interest in connection with the Church on the Peninsula,
at John Street Church, New York, and on
Long Island; items, which, sometimes, will serve to
supply the hiatus so frequently occurring in the account
of our early church life, and bring to light the names
and actions of the Christian men and women who
adorned the Methodist circles of a hundred years ago.

In the beginning of his itinerant career Mr. Cooper
kept a diary, from which quotations, duly credited,
will be made. Speaking of his call into the itinerant
field, and of his travels thereunder, he says:

In November, 1784, I went and rode with one of the preachers
about a week, before quarterly meeting. I spoke while with him.
He asked me if I would travel if Mr. Asbury wanted me? I told
him I thought not; for it appeared to me, that I was not capable of
taking a circuit; and said but little more, having little thought of
traveling at that time. However, at quarterly meeting, at Barratt's
Chapel, Del., Mr. Francis Asbury, our superintendent, was inquiring
among the preachers “if they knew of any young speaker in the
circuit that would travel.” One of them mentioned my name; and
they sent for me to come unto them, which I did, and Mr. Asbury
desired that I should go on Caroline Circuit and make a trial. I
consented; and thought if I could not stand it I could go home again. So I got in readiness, and went on the circuit the 20th of November,
1784, and got to my appointment, at Johnstown, the next day, being
Sunday, the 21st, and preached from 1 Peter iv, 17: “What shall the
end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” In the afternoon
I buried a child. In the evening I was much distressed in mind, but
a word old Mr. Laws spoke unto me removed my trouble, and I
found much peace.

The circuit on which Mr. Cooper had entered was very
large, embracing St. Johnstown, Lewistown, White's
Chapel, Abraham Collins's, Widow Hoskins's, Brown's
Chapel, Ezekiel Smithers's, Thomas Layton's, Alexander
Law's, Stradley's, and other places. The service
in Lewistown, Del., was in the Court-house, in which
was assembled a large congregation to greet the young
preacher. Here, finding some that were disobedient to
the rules of the Societies, he was subjected to the unpleasant
task of “turning out” five or six disorderly
members. At Brown's Chapel a “black class” had
been organized, separate from the “white class.” He
remained on the circuit two months, during which time
the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized. He,
in connection with the other preachers, was instructed
to read to every congregation where he preached Mr.
Wesley's Circular Letter to Dr. Coke, Francis Asbury,
and the Brethren in North America, which he did.
On Tuesday, January 25, 1785, the Rev. Hope Hull
having arrived to be his successor, he prepared to go
to his new field of labor, Kent Circuit, Md., having the
Rev. Richard Whatcoat as his colleague. The following
is from his diary:

Wednesday, January 26, 1785. I set out for the circuit to which
I was appointed—Kent Circuit. I went as far as brother White's, and met the class.

Thursday, 27. I rode to William Cannon's, on the circuit to which
I was appointed, and preached, with great liberty, from 1 Tim. vi, 12.

Friday and Saturday. Was very much cast down, and could hardly
speak at all.

Sunday, 30. Samuel Spry preached for me at Colonel William Hopper's. I gave a short exhortation, but was still cast down.

Monday, 31. I preached at William Ringold's, with tolerable comfort;
I found much satisfaction, and got much encouragement to
press on.

Tuesday, February 1, 1785. I was at James Duhamel's and spake
very short. All this week through I felt but small freedom of
speech.

Friday, 4. I rode about eight miles after meeting, to meet brother
Richard Whatcoat, who was appointed to travel the same circuit. I
was much affected while I was with him.

Saturday, 5. I rode to Chestertown and met class.

Sunday, 6. I preached in town at ten o'clock, with comfort; then
rode about eight miles down Easter Neck and preached. I lodged at John Hynson's, where my mind was comforted.

Monday, 7. I rode to Easter Neck Island, where I went to the
house of Mrs. Weeks—a happy old woman; it appears that she thinks but little of any thing except religion. She has given up the world to her two daughters.

Tuesday, 8. I preached on the Island, from John ix, 25.

Thursday, 10. I preached in Quaker Neck; it was a happy day.

Friday, 11. I met class at Worton Preaching-house, and rode
down to the widow Frizbey's, where I found an agreeable family.

Sunday, 13. I preached in Worton, from Gen. xxvi, 49. My
mind seemed quiet, but not so happy as I could have wished it.

Monday, 14. I preached from Mal. iv, 1, at John Angier's.
After preaching there were petition papers handed out for the people to subscribe; they were to send into the Assembly against poll-tax for the ministers of the Gospel. I spoke against the tax, for I thought that they who preach the Gospel ought to be supported freely by their own society, and not to have a tax to force the people to pay,
and, perhaps, some to have their goods confiscated on the account. For my part, I thought such things were not right. I believe there was but one man who refused to sign the petition.

Tuesday, 15. I found much peace with God, and liberty in speaking,
at Francis Rutter's.

Thursday, 17. I had a comfortable time in preaching at Frederictown
on the Gospel Supper.

Friday, 18. I preached at the Head of Sasafras, and then rode to
Sudler's Cross-roads, lodged at Thomas Seager's, where I met class next morning.

Sunday, 20. I preached at Mr. Pryor's with great liberty.

Monday and Tuesday. Our Quarterly Meeting was held. I found
my mind backward and dull both days. Brother Whatcoat preached
two very great sermons. In the evening, after our quarterly meeting
was over, we had an opportunity of hearing Dr. Coke in Chestertown, and again next morning.

Having now given, in his own language, Mr. Cooper's
account of his first tour through the circuit, a summery
of his labors thereon is presented. As on Caroline
Circuit, so here, the colored people were formed into
classes separate from the whites, though they were not
until later reported in the Annual Conference Minutes
in a separate column. It is proper here, also, to state
that the Minutes of the Annual Conferences for the
year now under review give no account of the appointment
either of Mr. Whatcoat or of Mr. Cooper to Kent
Circuit. The reason for this seeming omission probably
is, that Mr. Whatcoat did I not arrive in this country
until some months after the close of the Annual Conferences
of the year, and that Mr. Cooper, also, did not
go out as a supply until after the date of those Conferences.
Hence neither could appear on the Minutes of
those bodies. The same is true, also, of Rev. Thomas
Vasey, who also came to America with Coke and
Whatcoat, by appointment of Mr. John Wesley. Both
Mr. Cooper and his elder, Rev. R. Whatcoat, were
removed from Kent Circuit by the Conference of June
1785, the one being sent to Baltimore, Md., and the
other to Long Island, N. Y.

Toward the latter part of February the work of the
Lord began to revive, and at various points on the circuit
there were displays of power that rejoiced the hearts of
the Methodists, but awakened the spirit of sarcasm and
ridicule in those who opposed them. Under date of
February 28, Mr. Cooper says:

I preached in Spaniard's Neck. At night we had another meeting,
and met the black class. We had a powerful time; under Brother
Shears's prayer three or four fell to the floor under the power
of God.

Speaking of the Society at John Angiers, he says:

This class is more alive to God than any other in Kent County,
according to my opinion.

Again:

Sunday, April 24. At night, at Captain Kent's, we had a wonderful
time. The power of God so fell upon the people that many cried out
aloud; others fell dumbfounded to the floor. I had never before
seen such a time among the people anywhere.

After giving several instances of conviction and conversion
among the people, Mr. Cooper adds an account
of the second quarterly meeting held during his stay
on the circuit. It is as follows:

Sunday, May 15. Our quarterly meeting began. We had, I do
expect, three thousand souls present. We held it at Dudley's Brick
Preaching-house. The house was very large, but would not hold
all the people. Some gathered under the trees, and so we had
preaching in both places.

Monday, 16. Love-feast began at nine o'clock; the house was almost
full of members of society. Then preaching, in and out of doors,
began at twelve o'clock. Brother Whatcoat preached within, Brother
Cloud outside. George Moore gave an exhortation in, and Harry, a
black man, exhorted without. It was a good time.

With the close of the quarterly meeting Mr. Cooper
prepared for his departure from the circuit, which,
both to him and to the members of the Church, was
serious and affecting. They were strongly attached to
one another in the bonds of Christian love. During
the period of his service among them one hundred and
fifty persons had joined the Church, most of them
having been converted within four months.

The Conference for 1785 was held in Baltimore, Md.
It was opened on Wednesday, June 1, and was closed
on the following Saturday. Mr. Cooper was admitted
on trial, and was appointed to Long Island Circuit,
whither he repaired as soon as was practicable, with a
mind resigned to the work wherever he might be stationed.

In connection with his work on Long Island he was,
also, during certain periods of the year, in the John
Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of New York, as
pastor. The meager history of that Church, as heretofore
published for this period, decides us in giving an
extended extract from Mr. Cooper's diary, both as
inclusive of his labors on Long Island and in New
York, in the year, 1785; hence the following extract.
He says:

Saturday, June 4. I left Baltimore; called at Mr. Gough's, and got
dinner. From thence I rode to Abingdon. On the way I had to ride
through a stream called Gunpowder, which was deep and very rapid.
I found it hard work to sit on my horse and keep my feet dry. I
think it was the worst place I ever rode through, and desire never to
ride through such a place again, for it is really dangerous.

Sunday, 5. I was under the disagreeable necessity of traveling.
Mr. Budd and I were to be in company as far as Philadelphia. We
that night got to Mr. Hersey's, near the head of Elk. The doctor was
very sick that night, but was better next morning.

Monday, 6. We arrived at James Barton's, near Chester, in Pennsylvania.

Tuesday, 7. We set out, and I forgot the second volume of Mr.
Wesley's Notes on the New Testament, for which I was very sorry. I stopped in Philadelphia, and dined at Mr. Barker's, Market Street.
I got to Burlington that night, and was kindly entertained at Mr.
Sterling's.

Wednesday 8. Was such a day that I did not travel. At night I
preached in the Court house.

Thursday, 9. I set off again, having to ride a strange road all
alone. I rode in peace of mind during the chief part of the day.
When night began to come on I began to inquire for friends, but
could not find any, of our Church, near the road. I was informed,
however, that a Presbyterian minister lived at Cranberry, and was
advised by one of his hearers to call upon him, which I did. I was
used kindly, for which I esteem the Rev. Mr. Smith.

Friday, 10. I again journeyed on my way, and that night I got
into New York about ten o'clock; but I knew nothing of the city,
and the name of but one of our people therein, which was Mr. Stephen
Sands. Providentially I fell in with a gentleman who conducted
me to his house. He was in bed and asleep. I then began to think
that I should have to go to a tavern for lodging, but, by knocking at
the door, he was aroused, and received me kindly. I found much
peace of mind to think that, so far from home, I had found such
friends; but the spirit of truth reigning in the heart, will cause union
between strangers.

Saturday, 11. I was requested to stay in the city and preach until
Brother Hagerty, who was appointed to New York, arrived; to which
I consented, and found my mind much in peace with God.

Sunday, 12. I preached three times in our church, with a degree
of satisfaction.

Monday, 13. I spent in reading, meditation, and prayer. In the
evening I preached again, after which I was taken with much distress,
which lasted until Wednesday night, when I found a comfortable
time in preaching.

Thursday, 16. I preached in the Poor-house with liberty.

Friday, 17. I visited several friends in the city, andp reached at
night.

Saturday, 18. Brother Hagerty got into York very early. I then
went on Long Island with a tolerably composed mind. I lodged at
James Harper's.

Having now arrived at his appointed field of labor
he preached his first sermon at Jonathan Furman's,
where one cried out aloud under a sense of his guilt
and others were much affected. Thence he went to
Searington, on Monday, and was assisted in proclaiming,
“Who hath believed our report?” On Wednesday
he rode through the Great Plains, saying of them,“I
never saw such a place before. I am informed they
are fifteen miles by five. The ground is level and
clear, there being no trees standing on it, and but few
houses.”

Friday, 24. I preached at Nehemiah Brush's.

Saturday, 25. Led the class.

Wednesday, 29. I rode to Hempstead town. Mr. Eldred was very
glad to see me come; had word given out for preaching to be at his
house on the following day, at which time we had a small congregation.

Friday, July 1. I traveled about sixteen miles. By the way I
called at Mr. Smith's, who had never heard a Methodist, and, I believe,
was very much afraid of them. I opened to him many things
about them which he had never heard before: but he had heard
many things that were false. How often is this the case! The truth is
left, while a false tale is told.

Sunday, July 3. I met the Newtown class very early in the morning.
It was a dull time, but at ten o'clock the presence of the Lord
was powerfully displayed; the word was like fire in stubble; the
people cried and trembled, wept and mourned. I then rode about six
miles, and preached to the gayest assembly, by far, that I have had
on the island. Some of them were very attentive, though it is to be
feared that the good seed will suffer where the thorns, stones, and
birds of the air are so thick. After service was over a number of
them joined in singing; but such singing is strange to me—four
parts all going at one time, and each part on different words. This
is what they call the new mode of singing, and my opinion is, it was
instituted more to please the ear than any thing else.

Monday, July 4. I strove to keep my mind up to God, and to pursue
my work. I preached from these words, “What shall it profit a man
if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”

Tuesday, 5. I rode to Hempstead Harbor, and illustrated the word
“Watch,” that being my text.

Wednesday, 6. I rode to Robert Valentine's, and preached with
satisfaction to an assembly who knew but little of religion. I
hope some were stirred in mind. The next day I preached at Cow
Harbor.

Saturday, 9. I met Brother Hubbs's class, and pressed it on them
to seek a deeper work of grace.

Sunday, 10. I found my soul very happy while laying down to the
congregation the value of our immortal part, and how we should take care of it, lest it be lost at last.

Tuesday, 12. I met the class in the evening at Comac. The Lord
was present to bless and comfort us.

Wednesday, 13. I rode about twenty miles, and preached at Zebulon
Smith's to a full congregation; several were convinced of the
necessity of religion, some of whom are now pursuing the narrow
way.

Thursday, 14. In the morning I went down to the sea—about five
miles. I preached at Mr. Eldred's at four o'clock. I was much drawn
out after the people.

Saturday, 16. I changed places with Mr. Hagerty. He came on
the Island, and I went into York for two weeks. I preached in a
private house, near Fresh Water Pump, at night, on the necessity of
watchfulness; was much comforted then, and afterward, in private
prayer.

As the Rev. Mr. John Hagerty fulfilled the duties of
an elder both for the Church in New York and the
Long Island Circuit, thereby bringing Mr. Cooper to
New York once at least in every three months, it will
probably render the history of his work in the city
more coherent to present his account thereof in one
continuous narrative. Having done this, we shall return
to the narrative of his work on the circuit, and set
it forth in one connected whole. Pursuing this course,
the reader will gain a knowledge of the work the
preacher stationed in the city was required to perform.
Following Mr. Cooper's narrative, as given in his journal,
we read:

Sunday, July 17. I preached three times in our church. I believe
the Lord touched several hearts.

Tuesday, 19. I felt something poorly in body. I dined at Mr.
Staples's; after which I was complaining, but Sister Staples encouraged me. I preached at night from “Behold the man.” The Lord struck several hearts. Some dated their conviction from that service, particularly, as I am informed, Miss Cornelia Anderson, who is now a pious girl. I do not know that I ever felt more for souls than I did that night.

Thursday, 21. I still found my mind following after that which I
thought would be for the good of myself and others. I preached at
three o'clock in the Poor-house, and at night met the Band Society,
in which we were powerfully blessed.

The following week he engaged in similar public
services, thereby showing us that the preacher was expected
to preach three times on the Lord's day in John
Street Church, every Thursday afternoon in the Poor-house,
and during other parts of the week in the church
or in less conspicuous places. The congregation at
John Street was supposed to number one thousand.
He left the city on Saturday, July 30, and returned to
Long Island, on which circuit he remained until the
24th of September, when, being again summoned by
Mr. Hagerty, he repaired to New York. Of this visit
and the work performed during his stay he speaks as
follows:

Saturday, September 24. Was a stormy, rainy day, nevertheless
I rode down to York. The wind blew so hard that we sailed
across the ferry from Long Island to York in six minutes by the
watch.

Sunday, 25. I preached three times with tolerable liberty; the
people were serious and very attentive. My evening discourse was
on the ninth chapter and sixth verse of Isaiah.

Monday, 26. I visited a prisoner who is under sentence of death.
He appeared to be very penitent.

Tuesday, 27. I visited a few friends; had calm repose, longing for
religion to prosper.

Wednesday, 28. My mind was lifted to God in prayer. I dined
at Mr. Anderson's, where I fell in company with two girls who had
lately found peace with God. Both of them were alarmed when I
was in this city, last July. I was much comforted in conversing
with them, and exhorting them to stand fast in the liberty wherewith
Christ had made them free. At three o'clock P. M. I met thirteen
or fourteen children in order to catechise them. The Lord met
us, and powerfully wrought on the dear children. I believe there
was not more than one of them who was not in a flood of tears; the
most of them felt a desire to have an interest in Christ. I do not
recollect that I ever saw a number of children so wrought upon before. I found my soul unspeakably blessed, and was very happy all the evening.

On the following Wednesday he met the children
again, showing us that the Church, in her earliest days,
had given attention to the spiritual wants of the rising
generation, and that, in our stations at least, weekly
meetings were held in this interest.

As in his former visit to New York Mr. Cooper had
the company and counsel of the Rev. Jeremiah Lambert,
who had returned from his mission to the West
Indies, so, on this occasion, he was cheered by the company
of a local preacher by the name of Lynch, who
was much beloved and sought after by the Methodists
of New York. The presence and ministrations of Mr.
Lynch rendered unnecessary the call of Mr. Cooper to
New York as a supply during the after part of the
ecclesiastical year; he was not, therefore, thereafter in
charge of the Society until regularly assigned thereto
by the Annual Conference of which he was a member.
However, he occasionally spent a day in the city, and
has left some pleasant statements concerning the work.
Of these visits he thus speaks:

Friday, November 18. I rode into New York—about twenty-five miles. The Lord is carrying on his work in the city. He is converting sinners and sanctifying believers. I found my mind much
stirred to live more to God. I heard Mr. Lynch at night. I trust he
will be made a great blessing to the people in York.

Again:

Saturday, December 31. Brother Hagerty sent for me to come
into York in order to hold a watch-night, it being the last day of the
year. I went; there were five preachers present. We held meeting
until after twelve o'clock, thus ending the old year and beginning
the new in the worship of God.

Toward the latter part of February, 1786, being in
New York for a few days, during which time he
preached and visited the classes, he, with the Rev. Mr.
Hagerty, visited a woman who, being concerned for
some time on account of her sins, became strangely
affected. He says:

She was taken with frights, thought the devil was coming for her,
and cried out from time to time, “How he thunders and lightens!”
Then she looked up and said: “I see the angels. O, how beautiful!
but the stairs are so narrow and straight I cannot get up to them.”
February, the 24th, she was taken speechless, and now lies like one
asleep, noticing nothing. We went to prayer for her, then left and
called at Mr. Harden's. His wife was much distressed for her soul,
and had been for some time. Last night she thought she would give
up all, and strive for the one thing needful. Her heart was so filled
she could hardly converse on the subject. O that Jesus may bring
her to the knowledge of salvation!

At the close of this conference year, 1785-86, Mr.
Cooper spent nearly a month in New York, awaiting
the arrival of the ministers who had been appointed
to that charge for the new year. In this period he
performed the work of a faithful servant of the
Church, and endeared himself more and more to his
brethren. On Friday, the 25th of April, a public fast
having been proclaimed, he met his brethren in the
church at twelve o'clock “for intercession,” and had a
refreshing season. He maintained the work of the pulpit
as it had been previously ordered, preaching three
times on the Sabbath; also on Tuesday and Friday
evening of each week he visited, warned, preached to,
and prayed with the prisoners with such effect, that
on Sunday the 14th of May a note was sent from the
prison to the church stating that“near one hundred
desired the prayers of the congregation” in their
behalf.

The Rev. John Dickins, the new appointee to John
Street, having arrived on the 28th day of May, Mr.
Cooper bade farewell to the city on the 31st, saying, as
he looked back upon it:

O the consolation I have had among the children of God in that
place! but now we are parted. I looked upon the steeples, and
thought how many sermons have been preached by the different
ministers of Christ, and yet how many poor sinners remain! O what
an awful thought, to think of the great day when the grand decision
shall take place; what shrieks and cries will be extorted from disobedient
breasts when they are about taking up their abode with
damned ghosts forever! O that sinners were wise, that they knew
this, that they would consider their latter end!

Having thus laid before the reader the work of the
Church in New York, in 1785-86, under the ministrations
of Mr. Cooper, attention is now asked to his work, and
the development of Methodism, on Long Island Circuit
for and during the same period.

Leaving the city on the 30th day of July, he returned
to Long Island, preached in a private house when about
ten miles out, and also during the following day, it
being the Sabbath. Here he was grievously tempted
by Satan; of which he tells us in the following words:

Monday, August 1. In the morning I was much concerned in
mind. A fear got hold on me that I should not make the promised
land, but lose my all at last. I was tempted to leave off traveling
and go home, but would not give up to it; so, soon found it to weaken. I rode about twelve miles and found great liberty in exhorting a
small congregation to prepare to stand before God, and was set free from my temptation.

Wednesday, August 3. I preached at the East Woods, to a people
who were strangers to religion. I explained unto them the nature of
salvation. When I first began my faith was weak, but I was
strengthened, and in the application had great liberty; many hearts
were broken down, tears flowed abundantly, and I was much encouraged to hope that they would seek the salvation of their souls.

Beginning now a second round on his circuit, he
preached at Nehemiah Brush's, when one of his hearers
concluded that the sermon was specifically directed
against her, and became offended with “the woman of the
house,” under the belief that she had told the preacher
about her life and condition. On the following Sabbath,
August 7, he preached in the morning at John Wicks's,
his theme being sanctification. As soon as he was
done speaking, a stranger arose and began to speak.
Some thought his design was to oppose the teaching of
Mr. Cooper; but, on the contrary, he confirmed it. At
three o'clock P. M. he preached at Bread and Cheese
Hollow with such power that many we re affected.
He says:

After I had concluded, a sister of the Baptist persuasion got up and
confirmed, in the strongest manner, what I had delivered, and said,
if they did not obey, it would appear in judgment against them.

On Monday, the 8th of August, he preached at Philip
Ellis's, to a people some of whom had never heard a
Methodist before. From thence he passed down to the
sea-side, when he was filled with admiration on beholding
the wonderful works of God. On Friday he rode
about sixteen miles to Esquire Edsell's, where he remained
for two days, preaching on Saturday evening
and Sunday morning. In the afternoon he preached at
Flushing, with much profit both to speaker and hearers.
Thence he moved toward Hempstead Harbor, where
was held the first quarterly meeting of the circuit for
the Conference year. He thus describes it:

Wednesday, August 17. Our quarterly meeting began at Hempstead
Harbor. I was much rejoiced to see so many friends from
a distance. While Brother Hagerty was preaching my heart
burned within me, I longed so for souls to serve God. After
preaching we appointed stewards for the circuit and settled our temporal business, and then repaired to our lodging. I found my mind to be in much peace.

Thursday, 18. Love-feast began at nine o'clock; we had a profitable
time; I found the Lord very precious to my soul. About eleven
o'clock public preaching began. I found myself much drawn out in
speaking to the people. Many, I trust, will remember this meeting
all their days.

The quarterly meeting being closed, he pursued his
course, entering into every open door and gladly proclaiming
the Gospel of our Lord. In the course of his
progress he came, on Wednesday, the 24th, to Mr. Benjamin
Raynor's. He says:

I preached at Mr. Benjamin Raynor's, a new place, where, I trust,
God will begin a work. I have not felt more love and desire for
souls to come to Christ since I have been on Long Island than I do this evening.

Thursday, 25. In the morning I felt my soul filled with love. My
heart is much united to this family, that is, Mr. Raynor's. I left
some sermon pamphlets for them to read, as they seem much inclined to read. I commended them to God, and rode to Hempstead town and preached, at four o'clock.

Sunday, 28. A rainy morning—but few people came out. In
the afternoon, when I was done speaking, Esquire Johnson said,
“These are great truths you have delivered unto the people.” We
fell into conversation, in which I found much satisfaction. I rode
into Flushing school-house and preached on the Gospel Supper with much satisfaction.

Monday, 29. I rode about twelve miles, and exhorted a small congregation
to be much engaged, for it appeared that but few would
be saved. I held meeting at night over at a neighbor's house.

Tuesday, 30. I felt my covenant with God renewed. I preached
in the evening in Hempstead Harbor school-house.

Friday, September 2, was rainy, but I rode to my appointment,
where I met a few of our friends. We spent nearly an hour in singing
and prayer.

Saturday, 3. I met the Wien Comac class in the evening. The
Lord was present to comfort us.

During this tour he visited a Mr. Bryan, who,
though both dumb and deaf, seemed to have great
power to discriminate between the religious and irreligious
when brought before him. His wife was at this
time under conviction for sin. He was also called upon
to attend the burial of Mrs. Bailey, one of his members,
and greatly beloved by all who knew her. He says:
“I don't know when I saw people take on more at the
loss of a friend than at this burial.”

About the middle of October, he, by appointment,
visited a place down the island called The Old Man's.
where, at a Mr. Davis's, he preached. From thence
he went to Rocky Point. Of its inhabitants he said:
“There are some Christians in that place, I believe, but
they have many wild ways.” The following day being
Sabbath, he preached in Mr. Hallock's house in the
morning, and in the afternoon in the Presbyterian
Church. He also had an appointment near Manet
Hill, at Searington, and Coram. Of the latter place
he says:

There is a pitiful division among the people called Baptists in that
place. The members have shut their preaching-house door against
their minister. The door was opened for me; their minister wanted
to prevail on me not to go in to the preaching-house, but to preach in
a private house. I would not attend to what he said. Then he told me
he could not hear me, because he was forbidden to go into the house.
“But,” said I, “you may go to hear, though not to preach.” I took my
lodging at Mr. Sexton's. Saturday I rode to the middle of the island,
held meeting at night, and was invited home with a man who appeared
to be under much concern of mind. Sunday I returned to
Coram, and preached three times, with tolerable liberty, but the above-mentioned
minister did not come.

Rejoicing in the spirit of revival which was manifested
at Hempstead, Mr. Cooper went forward to attend
his second quarterly meeting, which was held at
David Furman's. Of it he says:

Monday, November 7. Quarterly meeting began in David Furman's
house. Brother Lynch preached, and Brother Sands gave an experimental
discourse. I have a hope it was profitable to many; it was
to me.

Tuesday, 8. Love-feast began at nine o'clock. I found my mind
much engaged with God for a down pouring of his Spirit. At eleven
o'clock public preaching began. Mr. Sands preached from John iii, 16.
I sat under the word with great delight. After he concluded I gave
an exhortation, found much happiness in speaking, and believe the
word was accompanied to several hearts. I was but short. Mr. Lynch
concluded. I believe it was a profitable meeting to many present.

Of this meeting it may be said that it was remarkable
from the fact that there was no elder present, and that
the sermons preached were by local preachers—both
Mr. Sands and Mr. Lynch being of that order, and
connected with the Church in John Street, New York.
Mr. Cooper himself was not yet in holy orders, so the
services were all held by unordained ministers. As
there is no mention made by Mr. Cooper of a Quarterly
Conference session, the presumption is that no such
session was held at that time.

On the 13th of November he preached on the south
side of the island, at Mr. Chichester's—a new appointment
—to a large assembly. As he had no other appointment
for that day, though it was the Sabbath, he,
in the afternoon, walked into the woods to pray for a
blessing on the labors he had performed.

On Wednesday, November 30, he preached again at
Mr. Benjamin Raynor's, which had now become one of
the regular appointments of the circuit. A class had
been formed, and religious services had become delightful
to some, though not to all, in that community.
Speaking of it, Mr. Cooper says:

Wednesdny, 30. I rode to Mr. Raynor's, a place where religion hath
lately taken root. The opposers are very warm against those that
have set out on a divine life; they have many lies told on them.
One poor, careless man roars at such a rate as to tell one of our
society that he would be glad to see me mobbed out of the place; for “it was his doings,” said he, “that brought all the reproach on you.” But I rejoice to see them bear it as well as they do; it appears that the more that is said the more they are engaged.

On Thursday, December 8, Methodism was introduced
into Flemington, as may be seen from the following
extract from the diary:

Thursday, 8. I rode to Flemington. Mr. Douglass invited me to his
house, and insisted upon my staying all night. After some hesitation I consented, and he gave word to some of the inhabitants that I would
preach. There came a few, some of whom had never heard a Methodist.
The are so filled with bigotry and prejudice that the very
name, Methodist, sounds like some monstrous thing. However, after
preaching, I heard that one said he should be glad to hear such
preaching often. But bigotry so prevails that the people are kept
at a distance from us, and, it is to be feared, too far from God.

Being intent upon enlarging the sphere of his usefulness,
Mr. Cooper entered every open door and preached
Jesus. Five days after his work at Flemington he
preached in Bethpage “with much satisfaction, to a
house full of people,” and then prepared to plant
the gospel seed in Jamaica, as will be seen by the
following:

Friday, December 16. As I rode through Jamaica I called at Mr.
Nichols's, to deliver him a letter. We fell into conversation, and,
before I left him, I made an appointment to preach in his house on
the 30th day of the month. I then rode to Mr. Furman's. He and
I, with some of his family, went about five miles to hear a black man
preach. He had much zeal.

When the time arrived he fulfilled his engagement
at Jamaica, but was fearful that bigotry and prejudice
would prove to be the hurt of many in that place. In
the meanwhile he preached at a Mr. Shadbolt's, at James
Hubbs's, at Peter Van Nostrand's, and at John Combs's.

After his visit to New York, to engage in the watch-night
services, December 31, he was accompanied to
his circuit by the Rev. Jacob Brush, who, as will be
seen by the extract presented below, preached several
times, and was gladly heard by the people. Says Mr.
Cooper:

Tuesday, January 3, 1786. As we went to our appointment we
called at Mr. John Searing's. I trust it was a profitable visit. I
trust his wife, son, and daughter are striving to give their service
unto God. There was a full congregation at the Harbor, where we
had a comfortable meeting. We then rode down Cow Neck, and held evening meeting; we had many hearers. I trust religion is going to take root here.

Wednesday, 4. We traveled to the East Woods. Mr. Brush preached.
I spoke to them about joining class. I believe several are striving to
serve God, and inclined to join. I preached at night from Ezekiel
xviii, 27. Did not find much comfort, yet had words to expose sin
and recommend religion. I lay down with a sorrowful spirit for
the people.

Thursday, 5. I called upon Mr. Daniel Van Nostrand, on Mannet
Hill. They were very kind. I found a great desire for them to
obtain an interest in Jesus. His daughter is awakened to see the
necessity of religion. “I hope,” said she, “I may never live as I
have done!” I believe she is intent upon leading a new life.

Friday, 6. I was to meet Brother Brush at Mr. Foster Van Nostrand's,
at Sweet Hollow, by ten o'clock. I set off early in the
morning. He was waiting for me. We set out on our journey, and
called at Mr. Gilliot's, and took dinner. He is very friendly.

Saturday, 7. We met class in the evening at Brother Hubbs's.
After we went to bed we were talking about a fit of laughter we
had the night before, and, behold, in the meantime the spirit of levity broke in upon us to excess, which wounded me sorely. O that God may give me more power and make me more watchful!

Sunday, 8. There was a very large assembly at Brother Wicks's,
gathered in order to hear Brother Brush; this being his native place,
and he having been gone for some time, they were very fond of
seeing and hearing him. We appointed for watch-night. The people
did not know what it meant. A large congregation came together,
and we held meeting, preaching and exhorting for nearly two hours.
I fear some of them will yet live in sin.

Monday, 9. I parted with Brother Brush, and went to the south
of the island. I called at Mr. Smith's, where I fell in company
with Mr. Carle. We had a smart debate about religious matters, but
I fear he is not acquainted with the power of it. I preached at Mr.
Chichester's from “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the
dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” At night I was informed
by one who, when I was this way before, wanted me to preach at
this time at his house, and a few days agone had a frolic. Does this
agree with preaching? I answer, By no means; but how hard it is
with many to give up the sin of life!”

During this tour Mr. Cooper preached at night at
Jerusalem, to a congregation which was much moved
under the sermon, many resolving thereafter to lead a
new life. Of these, one had resolved to visit the
preacher the next day, to converse with him on the
subject of religion, but, having indulged in his usual
draught of rum, “got out of the notion.” He also
had a “comfortable meeting at John Searing's, where
Methodist preaching never had been before.” Near
Crab Meadow lived a brother, Smith by name, whose
wife, Hannah, was on the 22d of January called to her
reward in heaven. Mr. Cooper preached a sermon over
her remains on the 24th, after which she was buried.
He thus speaks of her character:

I have no doubt but that our loss is her gain. She had, for some
considerable time, maintained an upright walk with God. I, from my
first acquaintance with her, took knowledge that she had been with
Jesus. She was of a patient, meek, and humble disposition; her
conversation, practice, and countenance bespoke a sincere heart.
She always appeared grieved at the conduct of any who lived carelessly. Her heart was generally very tender, which appeared from her frequent tears, and loving, tender conduct. I trust the loss of brother Smith's wife will prove a blessing to his soul.

After the burial of Mrs. Smith, Mr. Cooper, having
to “bring up” the two days wherein he was detained,
hastened to his appointment at Jerusalem. A large
congregation awaited his arrival. Here Colonel Birdsell
desired him to recommend the building of a
church. Said he:

I hardly knew what to do in the matter of the request, as I had
preached there but two or three times; I thought people might put
wrong constructions on my intention; but I told the congregation
my reason for speaking, and left them to meditate upon it.

He was again at this place on Wednesday, the 8th of
March, and speaks of it thus:

I found great liberty in preaching at Jerusalem to a large congregation.
The people in this place are much taken with our preaching.
I was solicited to go to Colonel Birdsell's. I accordingly went, and
found an agreeable time. His wife and daughter are under great
concern. I conversed freely with them on matters of religion. His
daughter thought she found comfort while I was at prayer.

Two weeks after this, on the 22d day of March, he
formed a society, the first that had been organized in
this town by the Methodists.

On Saturday, January 28, he preached at Rockaway,
“a new place,” his text being, “Seek ye the Lord while
he may be found.” The citizens were at this time
strangers to religion, and said he, “Satan reigns much
in the hearts of the people.” In two months he was
there again, preaching to “a full, attentive congregation;”
and thus the seeds of the Gospel were scattered
which soon brought forth an abundant harvest. On
the last day of January he preached at Searington,
where a little flock had been recently gathered together
by him, and a class organized, that they might watch
over each others' souls.

The third quarterly meeting was held on Saturday and
Sunday, Feb. 4 and 5, at Crab Meadow. He tells us:

It began in the evening; Mr. Hagerty preached, I exhorted. Several
friends came from far. I was much perplexed in mind about
lodging for them, but all were provided for, and I rested in quiet.

Sunday, 5. Love-feast began at nine o'clock. We had a precious
time. The rain prevented many from coming, yet we had the house
tolerably full, and, I trust, a profitable meeting.

The quarterly meeting having ended, he made a visit
of two weeks to New Jersey. During this visit he
preached at Chatham, where a Presbyterian minister
demanded his authority for preaching; at Mr. Clark's,
and Colonel Crain's, where some expected him to be
arrested; at Woodbridge Church; at Amboy, in the
Court-house; at Bonham; and at Brunswick, in the
Barracks, to a room full of people. While here he was
the guest of Mr. Alvey. He says:

Fell in company with some who were strangers to all experimental
religion: some of them spake up for such amusements as fiddling and
dancing, etc. Mr. Freeman, a student of law, and Mrs. Lynn, the
governor's daughter, who were present, spake for it, but soon gave
up the point. The lady was very honest in acknowledgment of
God's calls to her, and that she was ashamed of it to think he had
called but she had refused.

Leaving Brunswick, he preached at Mr. Freeman's,
at Samuel Jaques's, at Esquire Marsh's, and at Daniel
Terrell's. Mr. Marsh accompanied him to Mr. Terrell's,
and during the journey sought an explanation of some
of the doctrines held by the Methodists, and, though
a member of another denomination, was so well pleased
and satisfied that he said he did not know but that he
should be a Methodist.

On Friday, February 17, he arrived at Elizabeth,
where, at night, he preached and led the class. Speaking
of the state of religious affairs in the town he says:

Satan makes a wonderful bustle in this place; the class has lately
been formed; the opposers report such horrid things about it that
some have withdrawn, and others are very near doing it, but I feel a
hope that they will be more reconciled, for they begin to find out
that the reports are false.

Having preached in Elizabeth, on Sabbath morning,
February 19, he rode in the afternoon to Lyon's
Farms, and preached; from thence to Newark, where
he heard Mr. McWhorter preach at six o'clock, P. M.,
at the conclusion of which service the Court-house bell
rang for him, and he preached, beginning after seven
o'clock, to a full congregation. From thence he returned
to his circuit on Long Island.

Pursuing his course through his circuit, he visited a
family in Jerusalem by the name of Jones, where he
preached, much to his own satisfaction and to that of
the friends there assembled. Coming the next day to
Hempstead, he found that the parish minister was
busily engaged in stirring up opposition to the Methodists,
and he took such steps as would be likely to
counteract the evil sought to be engendered. At
Flushing, having preached at night from the words,
“I am jealous of this people, lest I have bestowed on
them labor in vain,” an old lady and her three daughters
tarried until ten o'clock to converse with him. He says:
“I dealt very plainly with them. I fear they are strangers
to religion; but they are not to fashions, for they
are a part of the gayest in the town.” An appointment
having been made at Matthew Wilkey's, he preached to
a large congregation there gathered, and was encouraged
by the prospect of both “the man and the woman
of the house seeking to know Jesus.”

As he was soon to be called to another field of labor,
Mr. Cooper, in his last “round,” preached his farewell
sermons, and almost every-where left the people in
tears. Coming to Mosquito Cove, he met and preached
to a large assembly, saying of them: “I feel great
love for the people of this place, and hope a work will
take root in their hearts, though, likely, I shall not see
them again.”

The last quarterly meeting for the Conference year
was held at Searington, on Monday and Tuesday, April
17 and 18. On the first day the Rev. Mr. Hagerty
preached, and on the second, after love-feast, Mr. Cooper
preached to them his last sermon as their pastor, and
then, amid tears, took the parting hand of the many
who had learned to love him. In reviewing the work
of the year, he says:

I think I have preached three hundred and nineteen times; and
on the circuit I rode, one hundred and ten members joined society.
I find that my mind is much united to the Long Island friends—how
hard it is for us to part! and more so when we do not expect, or, at
least, part of us, to meet again in this world. O may we meet at
God's right hand!

Great, indeed, had been the prosperity of the year, as
may be seen in the fact that he entered upon the work
of the circuit having less than fifty members, and left
it with a membership of one hundred and fifty four.

CHAPTER III.
EAST JERSEY CIRCUIT, 1786.

IT is, probably, to most of the students of the course
of early Methodism in America a matter of astonishment
that, although the Church was represented in New
Jersey in 1786 by more than twelve hundred members,
our historians are silent in regard to it, insomuch
that we are almost wholly confined to the early Minutes
for any information we desire to gain. Under such
circumstances it is both the part of wisdom and prudence
to bring forth, from Mr. Cooper's documents,
those data which may, in part, supply the deficiency.
There were in 1786 four circuits in the State of New
Jersey, namely: Trenton, West Jersey, East Jersey, and
Newark. Mr. Cooper had been assigned to East Jersey
Circuit, with John McClaskey as his colleague.

The number of members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church within the bounds of this circuit were three
hundred and sixty five, who were in classes formed at
the charges given below. There were but few churches
or “meeting-houses” as yet built; so that public worship
was, for the most part, conducted at the residences
of the people. The following is a list of the preaching
places in the circuit in June, 1786: Flanders, Esquire
Dotey's; Captain Hall's; Mr. Moore's; Mr. Grandin's;
Mr. Hasen's; Mr. Young's; Beman's Forge, Esquire
Tuttle's; Long Pond, Captain McAmley's; Warwick,
Mr. Roe's; near Florida, Thomas Smith's; The Clove,
Jonathan Stephen's; Mr. Clark's; Samuel Knapp's; Robert
John McWorter's; Mr. Benjamin's;
Wilson's; Esquire Bechover's; Pepper Cotton's;
Sussex; Mr. Hunt's; Mr. Wilgus's; Hackettstown, Samuel
Mr. Weller's; Esquire Opdyke's; Mr. Mellick's;
Godfree Peters's.

Though thirty-three places of worship within the circuit
indicated the fact that the power and influence of
Methodism were being felt, yet there existed strong
opposition, and it sometimes manifested itself in an ugly
spirit, as the following will show. Says Mr. Cooper:

Tuesday, June 13. I was informed of several things which appeared
to be worthy of notice. Mr. Egbert informed me that some time
ago he heard a minister, after he had preached, speak to the congregation
much against the Methodists; after which Brother Egbert
said, “You have misrepresented the people to your congregation.”
A man standing by said, “You had as well say the minister told a
lie,” and began to swear badly. Brother Egbert said, “Is it not
wrong to swear?” He said he did not know whether it was or not.
Another spoke and said it was not so much harm to swear as it was
to take the Methodists' part. Poor, stupid man! Are the Methodists
such monsters as he makes them out? Again, sometime after that,
two Calvinist ministers appointed a day for fasting and prayer, that
God might remove falsehood and error from among them, looking
upon the Methodists as guilty of both. When their congregations
met they preached and prayed against both. I do not suppose they
either of them mentioned the Methodist name; but here is something
to be noticed: God did not remove Methodism, but in a short
time they both were removed from time to eternity. Who can account
for this? But Methodist doctrines yet remain and prevail
among men as much, or more, than ever. I found great satisfaction
in preaching and meeting the class; my soul was happy all the
evening.

Mr. Cooper found, also, in the Church, at some of the
appointments, a state of irreligion that was a cause of
grief to him. As an illustration, he tells us that the
class which met at Esquire Bechover's was in such disorder
that he “broke it up;” that upon hearing a certain
Brother Smith—of the local order of preachers—attempt to preach, and finding his utter unfitness for
the task, he told him of his condition, and advised him
to retire from that form of service. Soon, however, in
various parts of the circuit, the work began to revive,
and those who were enemies to Methodism began to see
their error, and to recall their former utterances of
opposition and censure.

Returning from the quarterly meeting on Newark
Circuit he received letters from New York and other
places, which, as they illustrate the state of religion in
their communities, are here presented to the friends of
those charges, among whom, mayhap, are yet surviving
relatives. The first is from Thomas Smith, a lay member
of John Street Church, New York:

NEW YORK, June 18, 1786.DEAR FRIEND:

I take this opportunity of writing to you; and
think, by this time, you are no stranger to coarse fare, a hard bed,
and the contradiction of sinners, as I told you you were to expect.
But, dear friend; the love of God and Christ will make all this light
and easy. When you consider the cause you are engaged in; when
we think on these words of the apostle, “This is a faithful saying,
and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners,” that this was the very end for which he came into
time, how can we doubt the willingness of God to save such, of whom
I am chief? My conscience often upbraids me for being so unbelieving;
it makes me blush for shame. I am much prone to be very
diffident.

My dear brother, the Lord, who is ever doing good, hath sent his
servants among us, who have proved a great blessing to us, and I think
the work of God will prosper in their hands, as they are men full
of faith and the Holy Ghost. My dear friend, you cannot press
faith too much, as it is that which “overcometh the world,” likewise
our sins. The Lord hath mightily blessed us since you left us, and
it is all pain and misery not to feel God in our hearts every moment.
Myself and my wife wish you well in the Lord.

That this work may prosper in your soul, as well as of those who
hear you; that you may be made a blessing to all that hear you, is
the prayer of your friend.

I have received your kind letter, dated July 6,
and esteem it a great favor and a token of your love toward us, and
hope we shall always rejoice to hear from you. We are all in tolerable
health of body, and trust some have their faces toward the
kingdom. O that we may be thankful, and diligent, and abounding
in love toward God and one another more and more, till we all obtain
that meek and lowly mind which was in Christ Jesus our Lord!

As to the state of my mind: sometimes I seem to have access to
the throne of grace, and behold as in a glass (darkly) the Lamb of
God which taketh away the sin of the world. At such seasons my
soul is refreshed, Christ's name is as ointment poured forth; but it
is like the visits of a wayfaring man, who turneth aside for a night
to visit the tent of an unworthy creature. O that I may be more
thankful! that the blessed Jesus would destroy every enemy, and
come with his Father and take up his residence in my heart, and
reign the Lord of every motion there. O, my dear brother, think of
the unworthy brother and his family; let us have a place in your
prayers before God. My wife and family join with me in sending
our kind respects to you. My wife was at quarterly meeting on
Long Island, and Colonel Birdsell desired to be remembered to you,
and said he would be glad to hear from you. We have forwarded
your letter to him. Brother Cooke is gone out to preach on the
island. Our Peter comes on very well in learning, and remains still
serious and diligent in the means. He has written unto you.

The Lord keep you in soundness of body and mind, and preserve
you to a good old age, and then, as a full ripe shook of corn, gather
you into his garner to be with him forever.

From your affectionate brother,ELBERT ANDERSON.

Mr. Anderson, in the above, refers to his son Peter,
who, though a youth, had written a letter to Mr. Cooper.
This letter, too, is at our command, and is of great
practical value, in that it shows that our fathers in the
ministry were, from the beginning of our existence
as a separate Christian organization, instructors of
children in the ways of righteousness. Here is the
letter:

NEW YORK, July 22, 1786.MY DEAR SIR:

Papa received your kind and affectionate letter. It
gave me great satisfaction to hear from you, and to think you had
not forgotten your unworthy friend, but affectionately mentioned me in
yours to papa. All our family are well at present, except mamma. I
cannot tell whether she is well or not, for Mrs. Housman and she are
gone to Long Island quarterly meeting. I am well myself at present,
and hope these will find you the same.

My dear sir, when I take a view of myself, and see how careless I
have been, it affords me reason to praise God that he hath not sentenced
me into everlasting punishment. I hope I may be more
engaged in time to come. I cannot, as yet, say I have received the
forgiveness of my sins, but hope I may soon be able to testify it.
I know it is not the Lord's fault, but my own, that I have not
experienced it before now.

I have reason to be thankful we have two very good preachers
here. Mr. Jefferson, who came with Mr. Dickins, is gone back to the
south. Mr. Dickins and Mr. Tunnell are with us this year. I hope
they will be the means of doing much good. I hope you will write
to me as soon as it will suit you.

I remain, your unworthy friend,PETER ANDERSON.

While we have here given the above letters from
members of the society in New York, where Mr. Cooper
had acted the previous year as an occasional supply, the
following one was from a valued and honored member
of Long Island Circuit, where he had ministered during
the larger portion of the year. It is doubtful whether
we shall find a clearer statement of the condition of his
late charge than this letter furnishes:

NEWTOWN, June 30, 1786.DEAR BROTHER:

Pursuant to my promise, I take this opportunity
to inform you that, through the tender mercies of a gracious God, we
are in health of body, and, I trust, still desirous to press forward.
O that the desire of our souls may be to the remembrance of his
Name! I trust I see a daily necessity of cleaving unto the Lord with
full purpose of heart, and that vanity and vexation of spirit is written
upon every sublunary enjoyment. Remember me in your access at
the throne of divine grace. I have great need of an interest in the
prayers of all the people of God.

Respecting our Society, nothing material has transpired since you
left us. Williams and his wife, at Hempstead Harbor, have left the
Society, owing, it seems, to some difference between his and Bumstead's
family. That's their pretended reason; perhaps he may have
saved the preacher the trouble of discarding him, which, it is more
than probable, would have been the case, as he was (poor man!)
a litigious person. Our quarterly meeting is appointed at Jerusalem
on Sunday three weeks.

I hope you have strength of body and serenity of mind. May the
Lord make you extensively useful in your day, that you may be able
to teach transgressors his ways, that sinners may be converted unto
him; that at some future day you may shine as one of the bright
constellations in glory. That you may, with unwearied assiduity, finish
your course with joy, is the sincere desire, and, I hope, will ever be
the fervent prayer, of him who is, with inviolable affection, yours,

JAMES HARPER.

One more, a letter from a layman on Newark Circuit,
is presented to the reader:

NEWARK, 1786.DEAR BROTHER:

I hope this will find you in the enjoyment of
health, both of body and mind, and I trust you have the satisfaction
of seeing the work of the Lord prosper in that part of his vineyard
where you labor, and are thence encouraged by seeing the travail of
the Redeemer's soul and the fruit of your own labor. I bless God I
am still a monument to his mercy, and, by his grace, am determined
to press after all the salvation of God, though at times I am ready to
faint. O may the Lord chase this slumber from my soul, that it may
never more return! A few more have joined the Society since you
were here; I hope they all are sincere, and striving to enter the
strait gate. There is a great deal of opposition, but this is what
all must expect that will leave the world, flesh, and devil, and seek
the salvation of their souls.

I trust you will not forget us at the throne of grace, that the Lord
may keep and strengthen us, that we may do his will, and walk worthy
of that vocation whereunto we are called. May the Father of mercy
give you every needful blessing for time and eternity, is the ardent
prayer of your unworthy brother, in our common Lord.

JOHN CHAVE.

Saturday and Sunday, the 12th and 13th days of
August, were spent in the exercises and associations
of the quarterly meeting on East Jersey Circuit. Besides
Mr. McClaskey and Mr. Cooper, there were also
present Messrs. John Tunnell and John Cooper, who
took part in the religious services.

While in the performance of his circuit duties, Mr.
Cooper preached on Sunday, August 27, in “a new
church lately built for the Church of England, so-called.”
The appointment was not entirely satisfactory,
as may be seen from the following statement of
Mr. Cooper: “I was informed before I got there that
some were much opposed to my preaching in it [the
church], but all were peaceable.” The congregation
was large, and attentive to the word. There was not,
however, at this time such a spirit of opposition against
the use of the churches of the Episcopalians by the
Methodists as was afterward developed. Mr. Cooper
preached, the following Sabbath, in Mansfield Church,
without meeting any opposition, and, in the afternoon,
for the first time, at Judge Hughes's Forge, where afterward
a prosperous church was founded. Later in the
year he preached in the Church at Log-jail; in the Log-church,
near Esquire Opdyke's, etc.; but the most decidedly
pronounced spirit of Christian affinity was manifested
at Newburg, of which Mr. Cooper thus speaks:

Sunday, November 5. I preached in the church at Newburg.
Methodism meets with unexpected fellowship in this place. The
church warden said to me, “You have some enemies; but where one
is against you ten are for you.” Blessed be God! the battle is not always
to the strong. I rode about five miles, and preached at Mr.
Westlake's at three o'clock, then I rode back to Newburg, with
Mr. Graham, and went and heard a Quaker, who preached at night
in town. After all the exercises of the day, I found a comfortable
evening and took my lodging with ease. Glory to God for his kind
providence!

Monday, 6. After breakfast Mr. Graham and myself took a chair
and rode about two miles to see Colonel Palmer; but he had ridden
out, so that we did not see him; but in the evening he and his lady
came to town where I was. I preached at six o'clock P.M., in the
church, to a tolerably large congregation, then went home with Mr.
Anderson and lodged.

We hail, with delight, the spirit of Christian brotherhood
as manifested in the following section. Under
date of November 11, he says:

Saturday, 11. The people were much affected while I preached
from Luke xii, 32, “Fear not, ” etc. I did not meet the class, being
in a hurry. I had to ride a considerable distance that night in order
that I might meet the Rev. Mr. Ogden, next day, at Sussex Court-house.

Sunday, 12. I set off from Mr. Hopkins's about nine o'clock, A.M.
There was a large congregation to hear Mr. Ogden. He preached
again at night. I lodged at Mr. Willis's, who informed me, by way
of application, when the vestry and wardens met (being one himself)
that they unanimously agreed to a proposal made by some of them to
prevail on me to take orders and settle in their parish; but I gave
them an answer, that, at present, I was not disposed to settle. I
found my mind at peace.

Monday, 13. There was a large congregation at the church, likewise
in the evening at Sampson Howell's. After Mr. Ogden preached
I gave an exhortation.

Tuesday, 14. I continued with Mr. Ogden; he preached down by
the Delaware River to a large assembly. At night he insisted that I
should give an exhortation to a few people that were at the house.
I did so, and he went to prayer.

Wednesday, 15. I had some satisfactory discourse with Mr. Ogden,
we parted, upon “election and reprobation.”

Although, according to Simpson (see Cyclopedia of
Methodism, p. 745), the beginning of regular Methodist
worship in Reading, Pa., was not until the summer of
1823, Mr. Cooper preached in that town in 1786, as the
following will show:

Tuesday, September 5, 1786. I had much satisfaction preaching
in Reading town to a small congregation. The greater part were
affected while I was showing the value of the soul and the danger of losing it, then applying a careful walk to them, lest the world, flesh, or devil should get an advantage of them.

While here he was also requested to preach at Germantown,
of which he speaks thus:

Wednesday, 6. The congregation at two o'clock was small, yet I
trust that God was present; the greater part were affected, the
others very serious. I was applied unto to go and preach at Germantown
that evening, which I gladly complied with. I had twice as
many as I expected, for the people there are generally opposed to us.
I had an invitation from Major Rhynehart to lodge at his house,
which I accepted. I am informed that a certain gentleman in town,
while his family were gone to hear me preach, fastened the door to
keep them out; but his heart failed, and at their return he gave them
admittance after some time. I was pleased with an expression that
dropped from Esquire Rhynehart's lips, namely, “Germantown is like a
fort, but the Methodists, I think, will at last take it.” I must acknowledge
I was much encouraged while preaching to see the attention
of the people; and I felt, I trust, a measure of gospel authority.
One said, after meeting was over, he was not afraid but that all who
came prejudiced had their prejudice removed. O that God may display
his power, and by his Spirit clinch the word in every heart!
With God's blessing, I purpose trying them again in about six weeks.

Both Reading and Germantown were now added to
the circuit whereon Mr. Cooper was laboring, and he
visited them regularly once in six weeks, and had the
satisfaction of seeing some fruits of his labors. That
this may appear to the reader in an uninterrupted
statement, the following is set forth from the diary:

Wednesday, October 18. We had a comfortable time at friend
Melick's—the greater part of the congregation was affected. Then I
rode to Germantown and preached to a large congregation; found
much liberty in speech, and feel almost confident that good was done.
There is a pleasing prospect of a good work taking place among
them.

Tuesday, November 28. I preached at two o'clock in Reading town.
We had a warm room, and the people, generally, were affected.

Wednesday, 29. I was very cold as I traveled, so I got off from my
horse and led him a considerable way, then I rode again. The congregation
was small at two o'clock. I preached again at night; then
we had considerably more. I had a comfortable night's rest. O
Germantown, when will you give up?

Tuesday, February 20, 1787. Was a very cold day. I tarried till
about three o'clock at Mr. Grandine's (a family of kind people), then
traveled to Reading town, where we had watch-night. I preached
on the “Fruitless Fig-tree;” two exhortations were given, but I fear
that some poor tree is barren yet.

While at Esquire Edsell's, on Friday, the 15th of September,
he wrote a letter to a member of the New
Jersey assembly, against sin, in answer to his assertion
that “no one could live without sin.” The letter
is so important that it is here given entire:

DEAR SIR:

I am sorry to find one who professes to be a child of
God, yet espouses the infidel's cause, and openly proves an advocate
for sin, even while the word of God loudly demonstrates that
“He that committeth sin is of the devil,” 1 John iii, 8; and, verse
nine, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.”

But sin's advocate, in order to defend himself, infers from 1 John i, 7,
that sin is unavoidable. But surely St. John does not contradict
himself! It evidently appears to those who understand the apostle,
that he means a natural man, for we hear him say, verse seven, “If we
walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,
and the blood or Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin:”
that is, they who come from darkness (in which is the natural man) into
he true light of the Gospel, which proves the power of God unto salvation
to their souls. Which could not be the case until they were delivered
from sin, as salvation implies this deliverance. But then, lest any
self-deceived one, who had not that experience, should build up a false
hope, or affirm he had no sin to be cleansed of, he immediately speaks
in the eighth verse, as unto such, “If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Then he beautifully
addresses them, in verse nine, and shows how they may likewise get
clear of sin, namely, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Then,
in verse tenth, he explains the eighth, and endeavors to guard against
our mistaking his meaning on this subject and so wresting the Scripture
to our destruction; that is, “If we say we have not sinned we
make him a liar” who hath declared that all have sinned. So none
by nature are clear. But, now, he who hath experienced the work
of grace above mentioned, is “dead to sin,” and how shall he “live
any longer therein” (Rom. vi, 2)? agreeing with verse fourteen, “For
sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law,
but under grace.” So, in verse eighteen, “Being then made free from
sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” Again, verse twenty-two,
“Being now made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye
have your fruit unto holiness” (which doubtless is not sin), “and
the end everlasting life.” I would now observe, “No man can
serve two masters (Matt. vi, 24), for either he will hate the one,
and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the
other.” We may doubtless affirm from this, Ye cannot serve God
and sin. If we would consider how different their commands are,
I should expect every understanding and unprejudiced person to
quickly see it is impossible to serve both.

But O! a melancholy truth; there are advocates for this cruel
monster, sin, which is such an enemy to all God's creation! Surely,
such cannot be friends to God's cause, for if they were servants of
God they surely would be enemies to sin. It is again asserted by
those who appear bold for sin's dominion, that “no man liveth and
sinneth not.” But I would ask from whence they get this assertion,
or, have they read it in God's word? If so, let the chapter and verse
be found, of which I know nothing at present. I see something
somewhat like it; but I have not seen those particular words. But
I make no doubt, if the antagonists of holiness and the advocates for
sin would but read the context of all the passages that speak in the
manner or likeness above mentioned, and compare them with other
parts of scripture, their beauty and meaning would appear quite different
from that which those who plead for sin's remains hope or
think they do; for, doubtless, the Scripture is consistent with itself;
but you would make it otherwise, to explain it according to your
mind, which, it appears, loves sin.

If we would understand the Scriptures, we should always notice,
1) the people to whom they are written; 2) the occasion on which they
were written; 3) the subject; and, 4) the design of the writer. For
want of this some condemn the true word, and say it is full of contradictions.
O let not this be our case; let not Satan get an advantage
from this quarter. I would now ask a solemn question, namely,
What is the cause of your pleading for sin? Are you afraid or
apprehensive that your neighbors will be too holy, and, thereby, sin
be driven from them, that you plead, there is no entire victory over
sin? Is it in order to discourage them from seeking it? Take heed
that you do not lay a stumbling-block in your neighbor's way, or
be instrumental, through your friendship to sin, in stopping any in
the pursuit of holiness, by getting that dangerous notion in their
heads “that there is no living without sin,” and so they may say,
“I'll not strive after that which is not attainable,” and give way
to sin, as (the more is the pity) too many do. O turn not the blind
out of the way. (Read Deut. xxvii, 18.) O that I could find as many
friends to holiness as to sin! What happy times should we then
see, while, instead of pulling down, we would be building each other
up! What love, peace, and harmony we should have, instead of envy
and strife!

Now, if you will not yourself enter, hinder not others who are entering.
Consider: we have shortly to give an account for all our
conduct. O take heed; be not found fighting against God; read impartially,
for instruction, the word of truth, with prayer, etc.

It may not be amiss to observe that there is great difference between
sin and temptation. None can escape temptation, but sin is
not committed until temptation is yielded to. The devil presents
something of the world, or flesh, to the mind. Here temptation begins,
but while the mind opposes the evil we do not sin; if we give
way to desire of the evil, then sin is committed. But, now, cannot
man (Christ helping him, by whose assistance Paul said he could do
all things) do this: that is, overcome sin and the false spirit? Doubtless
he can, for St. John saith, first epistle, iv, 4, “Ye are of God, little
children” (speaking to Christians) “and have overcome them.”
In chap. v, 7, 8, we have an account of them that bear record and
witness to truth, as witnesses to these things. O, then, do not rise
up against them. Read verse eighteen, “We know that whosoever
is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth
himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not.”

I have not time, at present, to enlarge upon this subject, and have
been very brief. Volumes might be written thereon. I beg that you
will serve God and prepare to meet him, for “without holiness no
man shall see the Lord.” Heb. xii, 14.

A man cannot be saved without holiness:But he cannot be holy until he forsakes sin;Then he cannot be saved without he forsakes sin.No unclean thing shall enter into the kingdom of heaven:But a man is unclean till cleansed from all sin;Then he cannot get to heaven till cleansed from all sin.The wicked are to perish:But he that committeth sin is wicked;Then he that committeth sin is to perish.He who is from under the law may live without sin:But the Christian is from under the law; Rom. vi, 14.;Then the Christian may live without sin.“He that committeth sin is of the devil.” 1 John iii, 9.But the child of God is not of the devil;Then the child of God doth not commit sin. 1 John ii, 9.He that denies the Scriptures denies the truth:But the above assertion is Scripture;Then he that denies it denies the truth.

Take heed to what you do; humble yourself. May you know the
truth of these things is my desire and prayer.

The sheet is full or else I would add a few words more; but be not
offended at Scripture, I pray you.

Farewell.

The letter was not very favorably regarded by the
Assemblyman, but caused him to attack Mr. Cooper on
the following Tuesday in an enraged state of mind,
wherein, also, he discovered to his opponent that he had
very little love for the Methodists.

Mr. Cooper was at this time instrumental in planting
the Methodist Episcopal Church in Newburg, where, as
above stated, he preached in the Episcopal church of that
town. Alluding to the opening for him there, he says:

Sunday, September 24. I preached at Newburg. I think I
plainly see the providence of God working for us. Mr. Wagrant applied
to me to preach a funeral sermon over his sister-in-law. Her
death, very probably, drew out many that otherwise would not have
come. I found much liberty in opening my text; the people expressed
themselves as much satisfied, and pressed me to come again. Several
gave me an invitation to their house; I met with unexpected kindness
from the people. Mr. Ellis, one of the greatest men in that
part, gave me a very affectionate invitation to his house, but I could
not go by reason of my appointment in the afternoon in another
direction. I gave them a promise, by the leave of Providence, to visit
them again in six weeks. Some said the meeting-house (Presbyterian?)
should be opened; others, the church; but I told them it was
immaterial to me which.

This appointment, which was filled November 5 by
his preaching in the church as above recited, served
so to impress the preacher that it became thereafter
a place of regular visitation on his six weeks' circuit.
His next appointment there was on Sunday, December
7. He says:

Sunday, 17. We returned to Newburg. The day being cold, and
the drifting snow having blown into the church, I preached in the
house of Mr. Wagrant. We had a large congregation; I had great
liberty; the people were much affected; the power of God rested
upon us. I hope the day will be remembered. I preached again at
night; found liberty of speech. I feel a great hope that the labor is
not “as water spilt on the ground.”

By reason of his attendance at the quarterly meeting
services of a neighboring charge he did not preach
in Newburg at the time of his next appointment
there, but was promptly in place on Sunday, the 11th
of March, and preached to a “serious, attentive congregation.”

While the exact location of some of the new places
wherein the seeds of Methodism were at this period
planted cannot be determined, by reason of the fact that
public worship was, for the most part, conducted in the
dwellings of families friendly to our cause, yet there
are some neighborhoods and villages, or towns, given,
were afterward societies were formed and churches
or chapels built. Thus we find Mr. Cooper in September
preaching at Mr. Miller's, in Smith's Clove; then at
the Lower Clove, where he was “much encouraged to
think that some of the family would covenant to serve
the Lord,” and where he hoped good would be done
in that place if they could continue preaching there;
then at Bethlehem, Pa., of which he thus speaks:

Friday, September 22. I then rode to Bethlehem, and preached
at three o'clock to a small, but fashionable, congregation. Some of
the first rank were out; they appeared in a superfluous manner, yet
waited with seriousness while I was showing the nature of salvation
through Christ, and the danger of neglecting it. I trust that Mrs.
Ellis (John) got her heart touched, for, soon as meeting was over,
she inquired as to where I was to preach on Sunday. O what a
blessed thing if the rich receive the word!

On the following day he preached at Captain Smith's,
four miles above Newburg, with much satisfaction;
and the following day, being Sunday, at Newburg,
where Mr. Ellis, husband of the lady mentioned above,
whom Mr. Cooper describes as “one of the greatest
men in that part,” was out to hear him, and gave him
a “very affectionate invitation to his house,” which Mr.
Cooper accepted, promising to make the visit in six
weeks, which he did, and received a cordial welcome.
At four o'clock on Sunday, he preached at Esquire
Sands's, in or near Newburg, from whence, on Monday,
he rode to Goshen, another new place to him.
Here he met with an elderly woman, she being, ninety-three
years old, who told him she was longing to die.
“She appeared,” he tells us, “to have a witness of her
acceptance with God.” Having opened his mission
here, he returned to them in six weeks, and thereafter
continued to visit by regular appointment.

On Saturday and Sunday, 21st and 22d of October,
the second quarterly meeting for the circuit was held
near Warwick. This was in the upper part of Mr.
Cooper's half of the East Jersey Circuit, for he and his
colleague had divided the change into the “upper” and
“lower” half; and here he met with his elder, Rev.
John Tunnell, and his colleague, Rev. Mr. McClaskey.
Describing the meeting, Mr. Cooper says:

Saturday, October 21. We had about five miles to ride to the
preaching house, where quarterly meeting began. We had a comfortable
time. The congregation was much affected; a solemn awe
rested upon them.

Sunday, 22. Love-feast began at nine o'clock. Many hearts were
much melted therein. At the conclusion of the love-feast the sacrament
was given. I think the presence of God was very visibly
among us. Preaching began about eleven o'clock. I was pitched
upon to preach the sermon. The house was so full, and there were
so many out of doors, that I did not go to the pulpit, but stood near
the door. There were, I expect, near or quite a thousand souls
present; some think more. The words of my text were, “Happy
art thou, O Israel!” etc. Deut. xxxiii, 29. I trust our Quarterly
Meeting will be remembered by many dear souls.

Having, as heretofore shown, opened public service
at Hughes's Forge, Mr. Cooper became, on Sunday, November
26, the guest of Judge Hughes, and has left on
record a narrative of the judge which is given to the
reader. Says Mr. Cooper:

He (the judge) told me that, sometimes, when thinking of the
different religions in the world, and how small a part of the world
is of the Christian religion, he is almost shaken in his mind
whether Christ was the Son of God; nevertheless, he approved of
public worship, if there was nothing more than civility to be had
from it. I told him I thought the fulfillment of the prophecies in
him (Christ) was one proof of his being the Son of God; and a second
proof was, the fulfillment of his own prophecies. A third proof is
this: His example, in word and deed, proved him to be a good man,
which he could not be if he was not the Son of God; for, if he was
not the Son of God, he was a very great impostor. Then, as his
words, works, and prophecies proved him a good man, he was no
imposter; and, if not an impostor, then he was the Son of God.
However, I hope he is not quite shaken off from his belief in Christ.
I have this to say: he is a sensible gentleman, and used me with
great civility, for which I must acknowledge myself to be under obligation
to him.

Mr. Cooper had planned to preach on Sunday, the
24th of December, at Pepper Cotton; but, being prevented
by a severe snow-storm from reaching the town,
he preached at night in the house of a private family
where he lodged. It being on the eve of the Christmas
anniversary, he took for his text, “A prophet shall the
Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren,
like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever
he shall say unto you.” In the application of his
subject he exposed, with severe reproof, the habits of
professing Christians who spend Christmas in wicked
vanities. He said:

They profess to keep it in remembrance of Christ's coming into the
world; but we see some go to frolicing, others to drunkenness,
others to various evils. Strange, indeed! What! because a Saviour
is born, will men be more wicked than on other days? If a Jew,
Turk, or pagan were guilty of this, in derision of Jesus, we might not
wonder; but for a Christian to be guilty of such things is very surprising.
I must confess I am constrained to doubt the Christianity
of such.

One of the hearers, after sermon was over, was heard
to say:

If he had intended to speak next day (which was Christmas) at a
frolic, he would not have heard the sermon for a great deal. O! when
will all fear, and love to obey, God's word?

The third quarterly meeting for the Conference year
was held on this circuit at Mr. McCullock's, near Reading,
on Saturday and Sunday, January 20 and 21. The
services on Saturday produced a very deep impression
on many, and it was thought great good was done.
Mr. Cooper was the guest of Esquire Bevers, who,
having attended the meeting, was much impressed
thereby, as was also his brother, who was brought
under a state of conviction. The next day (Sunday)
being rainy, there were but few in attendance, and the
love-feast exercises were rendered less inspiring by reason
of the door being kept open for all who might
come, whether “members, outsiders, or others.”

At the close of the quarterly meeting Mr. Cooper
accompanied the Rev. Robert Sparks, who had been a
partaker of the services, to his (Trenton) circuit, to aid
in the religious exercises of the quarterly meeting on
that circuit. In making the journey they spent a night
at Mr. Joshua Anderson's, near Princeton, where they
had a watch-night service, and where there seemed to
be a good prospect of a revival of religion. At Mr.
Outgelt's, near Monmouth, where one of them preached,
and at Monmouth, where, at Mr. Grandin's, they had a
large congregation, they held watch-night services.
On Saturday, January 27, 1787, they arrived at Mr.
Woodman's, and on the next day opened the quarterly
meeting in Goodluck meeting-house, where Mr.
Cooper preached at 11 o'clock A. M. Rev. Robert
Cann followed in an exhortation. Some of his expressions
were so queer that many of the congregation
laughed at him, and were subjected to a sharp reproof.
In the afternoon Mr. Sparks preached, and in the evening,
several friends having gone to the place where the
preachers lodged, Mr. Cooper gave an exhortation.
He said:

We had a powerful time while at prayer. I thought the Lord was
about to sanctify some present. I do not know when I felt the
power of God more sensibly.

With a deeply-felt faith that God would be with
them, the next day love-feast was opened at nine
o'clock A. M., and they had “a very powerful time, some
crying out under the powerful influence of the Spirit,”
and all being happy or desiring so to be. At eleven
o'clock Mr. Cooper preached from the text, “Happy
art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people
saved by the Lord?” Deut. xxxiii, 29. Says he:

When I was treating on my third head, of doctrine, which was to
show in what respect this was a happy people, it appeared that
nearly all the congregation were in tears. In my application I was
much drawn out after their souls. Brother Budd gave an exhortation,
and Brother Sparks closed the meeting with singing and prayer.

The meeting being closed, Mr. Cooper, with a number
of companions, departed for Freehold, and lodged at
Esquire Akins's with seven or eight of his company.
On the next day with a company of twenty, breakfasted
at a hotel at Meltetetonk, where they had family
worship, and awakened a desire of salvation in some
members of the family, who were left in tears, and
arrived at Mr. Grandin's, on his circuit, that night.
From thence, going to Mr. Leonard's and Mr. Throckmorton's,
he came to Freehold for the Sabbath service,
but, as the day was extremely cold, had only a small
congregation present for the public worship. On Monday,
having the Rev. Mr. Sparks as his companion, he
preached at Joseph Hutchinson's, who on the next day
took him and Mr. Sparks in a sleigh to his appointment
at Mr. Barclay's, and the day following to Mr. Outgelt's.
Returning to Mr. Hutchinson's, they again departed,
on Thursday, the 8th of February, to Crosswicks,
where they met a small congregation in the
evening at Mr. Smith's. From thence they went to the
quarterly meeting on West Jersey Circuit. Of this
visit Mr. Cooper thus speaks:

Friday, February 9. The snow was about eight inches deep. We
concluded it would be good riding in a sleigh; so Mr. Smith and I
set off in one for Brother Brush's quarterly meeting, which was
nearly fifty miles distant. We rode to Burlington very comfortably,
where Brother Sparks appointed meeting, and insisted that I should
preach. I complied, and preached in the Court house to a small
collection of people.

Saturday, 10. We were fearful of riding any farther in the sleigh,
for it was likely that the snow would soon leave us; so we borrowed
saddles and bridles, and left the sleigh behind us. We reached Mr.
Chew's about dark, where were several friends who had come for
quarterly meeting.

Sunday, 11. Meeting began about eleven o'clock. The Rev. Mr.
Whatcoat preached, and administered the sacrament, after which
Mr. Benjamin Abbott preached. Of all times, under preaching or
prayer, I was now most plagued with laughter to hear the old man
so queer in many expressions concerning the sinners. He may properly be called a son of thunder. We, the preachers, lodged at Mr. Dilks's.

Monday, 12. Love-feast began at nine o'clock. The Lord was
with us indeed in a very powerful manner. I have not seen such a
day for a long time. At eleven o'clock public service began, at which time a corpse was brought into the preaching-house, the sight of which called aloud, “Be ye also ready.” After Mr. Sparks and Mr. Whatcoat were done speaking the corpse was interred. Then two young people were joined in wedlock. I think the most solemn wedding I ever saw. Some are dying, others marrying, but soon we shall all be laid in the silent grave. A little after, I preached;
then brother Brush concluded the meeting. I have not a doubt but
that many dear souls were much profited by the services.

“Returning to his circuit, Mr. Cooper resumed his
pastoral work, organizing, on Sunday, March 11, a class
at Mr. Stanton's, near Newburg—a great reformation
having taken place in that community; on the 21st, at
Mrs. Smith's, at the Great Meadows; and on Wednesday,
the 28th, after preaching at Captain McCullough's
in that vicinity, met a class which had but recently
been organized. Near Greenwich, at Mr. Henry's,
who opened his doors for preaching, he established
a new place for service on Friday, the 30th of March,
feeling, from the concern manifested, that good consequences
would result therefrom.

While Methodism was advancing at almost every
point on the circuit, the spirit of opposition was
manifesting itself to such a degree that the preacher
felt himself called upon to defend the doctrines and
principles of his Church. This he did, sometimes in
the sermon, at other times by private controversy, and
most commonly by reading to his congregations the
Articles and Rules of the Church. One or two instances
are here given by way of illustration. At one place
between Redding and Newburg, then called the Paltz,
he says under date of March 9:

Captain Woolsey took me in his sleigh up to the New Paltz, where
I preached at two o'clock. The house was full of people. The minister
of that place, who had striven to hurt us, was out to hear me.
I found much liberty in preaching on the Gospel Supper; then read
our Articles and Rules, which gave general satisfaction to the people.
The Rev. Mr.——who was present, found that he had told the people
wrong things about us. I am led to think that he has hurt himself
by so doing.

Again:

Saturday, April 7. At three o'clock I had to preach in Mendon
upon our principles, it being a meeting appointed for that purpose.
There was a large congregation gathered to hear. I took my text
from Rom. ix, 22, 23. After soliciting the impartial attention of my
audience, informing them, as I had a complicated assembly in which
likely there was a diversity of opinion, I should just advance my own
sentiments on the subject, beseeching them not to condemn or applaud
before the same should be judiciously examined.

It was expected that I should be attacked, but no one said a word
in dispute upon it, while many expressed great satisfaction in hearing
the subject treated. I heard of but one man who was offended,
and he never came into my presence, though I am told the people
wanted him to. They reckoned that the sermon ought to have convinced
him, and would have done it if he had been reasonable. This
is the center of Calvinism, but they are almost overset.

I lodged at Mr. Henry Clark's. In the evening three or four
gentlemen came over to hear our Articles read. They appeared to satisfy
them, finding that they were quite contrary to what they had
been informed. They parted from me with a very friendly spirit,
though some of them had been remarkable enemies to us a few days ago.

Again:

Wednesday, 18. I had to preach twice. It was expected that a
certain minister would meet me at one of the places in order to
attack me on some principles in which we did not agree, but he did
not come. It was thought that many more were at preaching than
would have been but for the expected dispute.

Thursday, 19. I traveled to Mr. Jacob Dayton's, up in the New
Paltz, where, after I was done preaching, I was attacked by an
old gentleman who had been, I am informed, a preacher for more
than twenty years; but O, dear man! were I he, I would be ashamed
of my conduct. I hope, indeed, he is. He both got angry and disputed
very weakly. What weakness it discovers in people to conduct
themselves as about six or eight of them did. I exhorted them
to dispute and talk less, and to pray more. They acknowledge it to
be right. Mr. Talleau, who was sitting back, said unto me: “But
you are among a people that talk much and pray but little.” He did
not like their conduct at all.

As the Conference year was now soon to close, Mr.
Cooper, as he passed through his circuit, addressed his
congregations in sermons indicative of his expected departure
to another field of labor. The scenes through
which both the minister and his congregation passed
were deeply affecting, and produced many tender expressions
and tearful eyes. In the meanwhile he was
called to New York to exchange with Mr. Tunnell for
three weeks, at the expiration of which time he had
planned to go to Maryland to attend the session of the
Annual Conference of which he was a member on probation.
He left the circuit on Monday, the 23d of April,
and the next day entered the city. Here he found, by
reason of the arrival of Bishop Coke from England, the
annual Conference had been called to meet on the
1st day of May, in Baltimore; that Mr. Tunnell, with
whom he was to exchange, must attend that session;
and that if he did not return to the circuit he had left
there would be disappointment generally. He, therefore,
remained one day in New York, after which he
returned to his circuit, and gave up the thought of attending
the session of the Conference in Baltimore.
Here he remained until summoned by Bishop Asbury
to New York to be ordained deacon; preaching at
John Allen's, Colonel Palmer's, Daniel Gedney's, Newburg,
Mr. Van Duzer's, John Ellison's, Mr. Holmes's,
where, eight weeks before, a man who had been deaf for
a number of years, so that it was with difficulty he heard
any thing, had been asked to come to meeting and hear
preaching, being told that, though deaf, he might get near
the preacher, and hear some, if not all, the sermon. He
came and placed himself near the stand. When the hymn
was read he heard but little, but, to his great surprise,
in time of prayer his hearing came to him, so that he
heard all the sermon perfectly well, and has had his
hearing ever since, which has been about eight weeks.
He was sensibly struck under concern of soul at the
same time, and is now a member of society. Likewise he
preached at Florida, Warwick, John McWhorter's, Mr.
Benjamin's, Winan's, on Schooley Mountain, Esquire
Tuttle's, Benjamin Town's, Joseph Sweezey's, where
was held the fourth quarterly meeting for the year.
On the 19th of May be also preached at Mansfield, and
at other places, closing his work on the circuit at
Mansfield.

On Tuesday, the 22d of May, he set out for New
York to meet the Bishop, but found, on his arrival
there the next day, that he had left the city and
had gone to Long Island. Mr. Cooper followed him,
visiting Newtown, Searington, Mosquito Cove, and
Hempstead, where he overtook the Bishop, with whom
He returned to New York, where, on Sunday, June 3,
1787, he was ordained, in John Street Church, a deacon
in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The next day he
prepared to go to the new circuit to which he had just
been appointed by the Conference held in Baltimore,
and which was contiguous to the one he had just left.
The reader is now invited to a sketch of Methodism in
that field—Trenton Circuit.

CHAPTER IV.
TRENTON CIRCUIT, 1787.

TRENTON CIRCUIT, in New Jersey, had, as reported
to the Annual Conference for that year (1787), three
hundred and seventy-two members. These were divided
into classes extending over a large tract of
country, requiring six weeks to visit and minister to
them all with regularity, and two preachers to serve
them. Mr. Cooper's colleague was Nathaniel B. Mills,
who was that year admitted on trial in the Conference.
As was stated concerning the circuit last passed under
review, we are constrained to say of this one: our
Church historians have given so meager an account of
this field at this time that we enter more into detail
than we otherwise would. That the inquirer may
have some data wherewith to be guided in his search
into early history, the appointments of the circuit are
here given, namely: Burlington, Crosswicks (at Mr.
Smith's), Monmouth, Perrine's, Outgelt's, Kingston,
Anderson's (near Princeton), Mr. Fiddler's, Pennytown,
Hopewell, Penny Hill, Mr. Hancock's, Trenton, Mr.
George's (near Burlington), Mount Holly, New Mills,
Browntown, Edge Pillage, Speedwell Furnace, Francis
Bodine's, Esquire Matthias's, Egg Harbor, Esquire
Tucker's, Hawkins's, Wier Town, Good Luck, Mr. Brewer's,
Mr. Woolley's, Colt's Neck, church near Mr. Morford's,
Peter Barclay's, Mr. Higgins's (near Delaware
River), Hanover (at Widow Job's), Hancock's, Bask
River, Clamtown, Mr. Cook's, Cedar Creek, Dover, Mr.
Throckmorton's, Mr. Grandine's, Joseph Thompson's
(near Cranberry), Shrewsbury, Pleasant Valley, (at Mr.
Stoutenborough's), Middletown Point (at Mr. Francis's,
a Churchman), Long Branch, Mr. Rowland's, Heightstown
(at Mr. Shaw's), and Robert Pettes's. These,
comprising more than fifty in number, besides other
places where an occasional service was held, made both
the traveling and the preaching, with other ministerial
duties, constant, laborious, and extensive. While
it would be highly interesting to many readers to provide
Mr. Cooper's Journal entire, space will not permit it,
and such extracts only as are most serviceable to an
understanding of the work, times, and events will be
here given.

Mr. Cooper began the work on his new charge on the
6th day of June, A. D. 1787, of which he thus speaks;

Wednesday, 6. I reached Burlington, though the day was rainy
and the traveling very disagreeable. . . . I preached at night in the
Court-house, and was favored with a number of the Assembly to
hear me—nearly thirty of them, Mr. Sterling supposed.

Thursday, 7. I traveled in the afternoon about fifteen miles to
Crosswicks; at Mr. Smith's I found a sweetness in meditation, and
much love and peace in my soul.

Friday, 8. . . . About nine o'clock I visited a sick friend, who, I
believe, is near death, and he believes it, too; but 'tis a matter of
great comfort to see any one so near death and no more affrighted.
He appears to be quite willing to be loosed from earth, to leave this
Tabernacle of clay and be with Christ, which is far better. We
joined in prayer, and I felt much satisfaction. I traveled to-day
nearly thirty miles (was much wearied in body), and had an opportunity
of reading part of The Lives of the First Emperors of Rome.

Sunday, 10. I preached in Monmouth preaching-house to a large
congregation; I found a mighty inflowing of comfort, especially in
the class-meeting. In the afternoon I went to hear one of our exhorters, who undertook to preach. I sometimes fear that young
speakers are too fond of taking texts, even before they are capable of doing justice to them.

Monday, 11. I visited friend Francis, who was very low in health,
but appeared to have his mind given up to God. I then traveled into
a desert kind of place among the pines and preached. I think here
is a prospect of good. I then traveled ten or eleven miles farther,
and preached; the Lord was present; the word was accompanied to many hearts in power.

Tuesday, 12. I was requested to preach at a new place, where
Methodist preaching never had been. We had a large congregation.
I preached from Luke xix, 10. The word was, I hope, sent with
power to many hearts; the people generally were affected. After
preaching I was informed that one man said to a young woman who
was much affected, that I preached at the passions and touched them. She replied to him, and said I preached to the heart, and touched that; which stopped him, so that he said it was a good discourse. I then rode to Mr. Perrine's, and preached there.

Wednesday, 13. I preached at Mr. Outgelt's; some were much
wrought upon by the word.

Thursday, 14. I breakfasted at Mr. Jaques's, then traveled to
Kingston, where I preached to a large congregation of airy, careless people, the greater part of them being youths. Before preaching I was requested to give consent for them to sing without my reading line by line. I was not fond of it, but seeing their desire for it was so strong I consented for that time. I read off the Psalm, and they then took it and sung it through, but I do not know that ever I was so much beaten out by singing before; it almost put me out of order for preaching, and I am afraid it hurt many in hearing; it was so light and airy that I thought it looked more like a place of vanity than of worship. In the evening I rode to Mr. Anderson's, near Princeton, where I was to preach the next day.

Friday, 15. In the morning, after retirement as usual, I walked
out to the carriage-house, where I sat down in a sleigh and read with a comfortable mind. In the time of preaching I was much drawn out after the people, and the word appeared not to be in vain.

Saturday, 16. Friend Outgelt and I set off early. We dined at
Mr. Bunn's, near Pennytown. Preaching was at Mr. Fiddler's at four
o'clock. We had a comfortable time, both in preaching and in class.

Sunday, 17. I preached at eleven o'clock in Hopewell preaching-house,
and in the evening in Trenton. I sensibly feel for this people.
O Lord will it please thee to give the effective stroke, so that a work
may break out among them!

Monday, 18. I was caught in a shower of rain as I traveled to
Crosswicks, but did not get much wet. I preached by candle-light
to a room full of people. In my application I was much drawn out,
and the people appeared to be deeply affected.

Tuesday, 19. . . . I preached at four o'clock, at Penny Hill, to a
small congregation. I hope good was done. After preaching I saw
one who was under great distress of soul from hearing the sermon.

Wednesday, 20. I expected to preach at Mr. Hancock's, but had no
appointment. I found the family serious, and, I trust, engaged with
God. I rode that night to Burlington, and there met the class; we
had a comfortable time.

Thursday, 21. . . . In the evening I preached, but found little encouragement.
I fear that this place is in a woeful state, not far from
being gospel-hardened—perhaps some nearly given up to a reprobate mind. I have a singular concern for them.

Friday, 22. Mr. Smith took me in his chair up to Mr. George's,
where I preached at three o'clock. We had a comfortable time. We
then returned, and I preached again in Burlington. I yet feel distressed for the people in this city. O Lord, our heavenly Father, let my prayer come up before thee on their behalf!

Saturday, 23. I traveled to Mount Holly; was much disappointed
in the place, found it to be much larger than I expected; it is really
a clever town, and I like its situation much. I met the class at six
o'clock, and preached at about eight o'clock. We had a tolerable
congregation; the Rev. Mr. Spragg attended with us, and led in
prayer after preaching.

Sunday, 24. I preached at New Mills. I was disappointed in this
place as well as in Mount Holly; for I found it to be a small village.
I preached the second time at five o'clock, from 1 John iv, 9;
found much liberty in discoursing on the subject. I had the Rev.
Mr. Wilson, A.M., and General Lacey, to hear me. I am informed
by Esquire Tucker that the general said it was the greatest sermon
he had ever heard in that preaching-house. O Lord, keep me
humble at all times; let nothing lift up nor cast me down. I remember the words of a certain man: “If they say,” said he, “I am an angel, I am none the better; and if they say I am a devil, I am none the worse.” So say I, that through the grace of God I am what I am. O Lord, let nothing hurt me in my journey so as to prevent my
making a safe arrival on Zion's heavenly shore at last! As I was
returning to Brother Budd's a shower of rain came up; I set off to
run, and got out of it soon, and in so doing am almost afraid I have
hurt myself, for I ran too fast.

Monday, 25. I expected to preach at eleven o'clock A. M., in
Brown Town, but, when I got there, found the service was not till
three P.M. I rode to Silas Brown's and got dinner, then walked to
the preaching place. We had a small congregation, and, I thought,
attentive. We had a very comfortable time in class.

Tuesday, 26. Was a very warm day. About one o'clock I set out
for Edge Pillage. I had to ride a very lonesome road through an uninhabited country. I had to go alone, and was enabled to find the
way by limbs of bushes which were broken at every forked road.
We had a company of poor, simple hearers together, and I endeavored to speak accordingly; I trust it was not in vain. After preaching I walked about half a mile to Mr. Dickins's, where I had to
baptize a number of children.

Wednesday, 27. I had a long sandy road to travel, and was glad
when I got to my preaching-place, which was at Speedwell Furnace. I had to preach to a number of workmen, who generally, at such places, are very wicked. I had liberty, and perceived that many were affected. Colonel Randal, from Philadelphia, the owner of the works, was there, and appeared to be very friendly. I then rode about three miles to Francis Bodine's, and preached to a small congregation.

Thursday, 28. I had to travel alone again, as I have had to do for
three days in succession. I preached at Esquire Matthias's to a tolerable congregation, but they appeared heavy. I fear that little or
no good was done among them to-day. I had to preach next day
at Egg Harbor, and, having an opportunity of company with Dr.
Baker and another gentleman, who lived there and were going home, I rode down with them this evening. The doctor and I had a free conversation as we traveled; he is truly a sensible man. O what a blessing if he had but the knowledge of salvation by the remission of his sins! But he is very friendly, and I live in hope that he will see and feel the need of a closer walk before and with God.

Friday, 29. We had a large congregation out to hear. I preached
in the house of Esquire Tucker; found tolerable liberty, but not the
satisfaction I hoped for; yet I bless God, whose wisdom is infinite,
and who knows best in what manner to deal with his creatures.

Saturday, 30. I preached in Hawkins's preaching-house to a tolerably
large congregation, and hope that labor was not in vain.

Sunday, July 1. I preached in the morning at Hawkins's; then
rode to Wier Town, and preached at eleven o'clock. The word of
truth, I thought, had free course to many hearts while I was showing
the unspeakable love of God to our world in sending his only Son to
bleed and die that we might have life through him. I lodged at
Mr. Chamberlain's. Here I saw a young woman who would not attend meeting. She reckoned that preaching would do her no good, and she should only hear the faults of others and herself exposed, so she would not go. I talked with her about it, informing her that she would have to give an account to God at judgment for slighting and neglecting his worship. Likewise, that it was the work of the devil to keep her away, and, if she was not careful, she might grieve the Spirit of God, causing him to depart from her, etc., to all of which she listened attentively. Next morning when I was going away, I thought I would talk to her again. I then spoke of Christ's love to us, and asked her if she could have so stubborn a heart as to slight such love? and how she would appear to give an account before Him at the great day? This seemed so heavy she broke into tears, and I left her weeping. Blessed he God, that her heart is touched! O that it may prove effectual! I preached at eleven o'clock at Good Luck in the preaching-house; we had a large congregation. The word ran like fire to many hearts. I hope the spark will not be put out-
When I was meeting the class many were around the house very attentive, and some of them much affected, as I could see through the windows. O that a glorious work may break out here! Lord grant
it, for thy mercy's sake!

Tuesday, 3. I had the company of Esquire Pharo for about twenty
miles. He appeared like a civil man, but I fear he is in want of the
one thing needful. I told him I thought that rulers ought always
to be examples in religion to the people, which spoke louder than
precept. He replied: “That's good, doctrine,” and seemed to be
pleased that I spoke so plainly to him. I quoted that passage of
Scripture, “Have any of the rulers believed?” showing that the eyes
of the people were generally on the rulers. It appeared to produce
seriousness in his mind. I preached at Mr. Allen's from Rom. viii, 1.
Several were much wrought upon. O may God's work prosper
here!

In the evening I took a short walk, but the mosquitoes were so
swarming that I had no rest, and soon returned to the house. I
don't know that I ever knew flies and mosquitoes to be so thick anywhere;
I was obliged to keep my horse in the stable for a week
except when I rode him. These insects are very troublesome all
along the sea-shore for a great distance; I don't know how the poor
beasts do exist among them.

I was much astonished to see the effect, and hear the narration, of
a contest between Mr. Allen and a number of robbers, who in time of
the last war beset his house. They broke open his doors and windows,
yet he, alone, kept them off; declaring that the first that entered
would become a dead man. They fired their guns about thirty
times into the house, aiming at him, but he escaped the shot: it being
dark in the house they had to aim at his voice. They then offered,
if he would give up, and give them fifty pounds, they would go in
peace; but he told them he would trust no such people. Then they
declared that they would burn the house over his head, and began to
set fire to it, by throwing the fire in at a back door, until the house
in one room was all in a flame. When he saw that he must be burned,
or give up, or turn out and run the risk of escape, he cocked his gun,
and sprung out into the piazza, and cried out: “Life for life! I am determined
to kill, and be killed.” But their hearts failed, and they ran,
and left him. With much difficulty he put the fire out; but the house
is burnt very much, and much was burned up in it, yet he lived.

Wednesday, 4. I had much liberty at Mr. Brewer's in preaching,
but had much trouble in class with the Society.

Thursday, 5. I preached at Mr. Woolley's to a tolerable congregation.
I had great hoarseness, so that I spoke with difficulty.

Friday, 6. In the morning, early, I went into the sea, and bathed,
then rode to Colt's Neck and preached to a congregation chiefly of
women, for it being the height of haytime not many men can conveniently
leave their work. The word appeared to have some effect.
I rode to Mr. Leonard's and lodged, having a comfortable evening
with a number of sincere friends, who spent the night there also.

Saturday, 7. I spent the greater part of the day at Mr. Leonard's;
in the afternoon I rode over to Mr. Morford's, where I found them
very kind.

Sunday, 8. I baptized Mr. Morford's wife, one who, I believe, is
sincere in heart and soul. We then rode to the church, where we
had a large congregation. Many, I presume, came in order to see
some baptized by immersion. I baptized two thus.

Monday, 9. I preached twice. In the afternoon I had four to baptize
by way of immersion; we had a number or Baptists out to see,
who appeared to be very friendly to some of our members. I found
my mind very happy in God.

Tuesday, 10. At ten o'clock I preached at Peter Barclay's; the
house could not hold the people. I preached on the Gospel Supper,
and believe there were but few dry eyes in the congregation. Here
is a great prospect of good being done; many are under great exercise.
At four o'clock I preached at Mr. Perrine's; the congregation
was small. I found tolerable liberty. In class the power of God
was with us, every heart appeared to be affected. O Lord, work for
thy glory, and the salvation of souls! I was particularly rejoiced in
speaking to three young women, who stayed in the society meeting,
in finding their hearts so broken, and their minds so determined, by
grace, to take Christ in his appointed way, and put it off no longer.
They appeared to be penitent indeed, and wept greatly to think that
they had slighted the call of mercy so long.

Wednesday, 11. As I passed through Spottswood town I met the
Rev. Mr. Ayres, who is the stated minister there. We fell into a long
conversation upon our separation from the Church. He contended
that we had done wrong, and that our ordination was not valid. I
contended that we had acted with an eye to God's glory and the
prosperity of religion, and, from Scripture, reason, and our success
under God, was confidently persuaded that we had done right; and,
to the validity of our ordination, I looked upon it that he could
not disannul it. He contended: We had broken the chain of succession
from the apostles, consequently we, and all who had done that,
were in error to think our proceedings to be right. I told him I
thought it would be a difficult point for him, or any one else, to prove the uninterrupted succession of bishops from the apostles. However, we parted in friendship, and agreed in other points. I preached at four o'clock from Eccles. ix, 10.

Thursday, 12. I met with brother Cromwell, from Nova Scotia, at
Dr. Jaques's; was very glad to see him, but could not stay long with
him, and went on to Mr. Higgins's, and preached to a small congregation. Some were very attentive; I hope labor was not in vain.

Friday, 13. After preaching, when at tea, Mr. Anderson and I
fell upon the subject of living without committing sin. I asked him
if he thought it was our privilege to love God with all our hearts.
He said, “Yes.” I then asked if we could love God with all the heart
while sin took up one part thereof or remained therein? He said,
“No.” “Very well, this is just what I contend for: That it is our
privilege to love God with all the heart; consequently, to be delivered from all sin, as we cannot do the former without experiencing the latter.” “Then,” said he, “I believe there are very few of such to be found.” “True,” I replied, “for few find the narrow way.”

Saturday, 14. I preached near Delaware River, from Psa. xxxiv, 19,
to a serious people, who, I believe, fear God, and are willing to suffer for his sake.

Having in the above extracts from Mr. Cooper's journal
given an outline of the circuit, with the exception
of a few points therein which may hereafter be mentioned,
we shall now confine our survey of the charge to
those facts which will serve to illustrate the work there
through the year now under review, premising that there
were at least seven houses of worship under the control
of the Methodists within the bounds of the circuit, some
of which were constructed during the year.

On Saturday and Sunday, August 11 and 12; the first
quarterly meeting for the year was held in Hopewell.
On Saturday the Rev. James O. Cromwell preached, and
the Revs. William Gill and Ezekiel Cooper exhorted.
The preachers all were the guests of Mr. Bunn, who entertained,
for the night, besides them about thirty other
visitors. The love-feast, which was opened on Sunday
morning, at nine o'clock, was a season of great power.
Says Mr. Cooper:

The presence of the Lord was with us in an extraordinary manner.
I have not been in such a meeting for a long time. All the
services were fruitful and inspiring.

The next quarterly meeting was held in Freehold, on
Saturday and Sunday, October 27 and 28. It, too, was
marked by the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Of
the third, held at Manahawkin Saturday and Sunday,
February 9 and 10, the following interesting description
is given of the Sabbath service:

“Love-feast began between nine and ten o'clock, and held till after
eleven o'clock; then the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered; public preaching began after twelve o'clock. We had a glorious time, especially in the close of our meeting. The power of God came down in the most powerful manner that I have ever seen in the State of New Jersey. It is said to have been the greatest time that has ever been known in this circuit. All ranks appeared to be in tears; many were overcome in such a manner that they could scarcely stand;
some found Jesus, one man crying out to the congregation to help
him to praise the Lord, for he had found him whom his soul loved.
This increased the flame, and it ran through the house as fire among
stubble. Soon as he ceased to speak a boy of about sixteen years of age broke out in prayer, after which we concluded our meeting.

The fourth quarterly meeting for the year was held
at New Mills, on Saturday and Sunday, May 24 and 25.
As it differed in some particulars from the others, a
more extended quotation from Mr. Cooper's journal will
be given to the reader. Joining with other friends on
Friday, the 23d, a watch-night service was held at Crosswicks,
where were assembled, besides several preachers,
more than forty persons from a distance, on their way
to the quarterly meeting, and a large number of the
people resident in that vicinity. The next morning
they continued the route to the seat of the quarterly
meeting. Says Mr. Cooper:

There were more than fifty of us who set off from Crosswicks, and
rode in company together. We were well off for preachers at quarterly meeting, among whom we had old friend James Barton, who formerly was a Quaker. He gave a sermon on the continuation of the ordinances in the Church, which, I think, was as much to the
purpose as any thing I have heard. His text was in 1 Cor. xi, 24:
“Do this in remembrance of me.” He showed that St. Paul received
this not from men, but from the Lord, as in verse 23, and that by divine revelation, and not personally from Christ; for he was not converted
when Christ went home to heaven; and as this was revealed
to Paul by Christ so long after the day of Pentecost, it doubtless was
to be continued; for had it not been so Christ would not have revealed
it to Paul so long after the discontinuance of all the Jewish
ordinances which were to be abolished; or, at least, after the day
of Pentecost, when they were no more approved of by the Lord:
and though they might not be fully set aside, yet the Gospel dispensation
had fully taken place, after which all that the Lord gave unto
his followers by the hand of his apostles was to be continued in his
Church to the end, even until he should come, which was the case
here, for St. Paul received this from him.

Sunday, 25. At seven o'clock A. M. I met the local preacher, exhorters,
and class-leaders for their examination, and to renew the
notes of the preachers and exhorters, which kept me very busy until
nine o'clock. I then opened the doors and admitted the members
for love-feast; we had a great number. It was past twelve o'clock
when love-feast and sacrament were over; we had about two hundred
communicants; then public preaching began. We had the largest
congregation that had ever been seen there. We set up all windows,
that the people might surround the house, which they did after
the house was well filled. I don't know that I ever saw a house
better stowed with people in my life. It was near, or quite, four
o'clock when our services were over. I was kept there from seven
o'clock to that time, and was not out of the door but once. I hope
the meeting may be a blessing to the place.

For some cause not stated in our Church histories, the
Annual Conference of which Mr. Cooper was a member,
instead of meeting in the spring or summer of the year,
as heretofore, was not convened until September. There
was, therefore, a Quarterly Conference held, being the
fifth for that ecclesiastical year. As, however, the
preachers were now about to leave for the Annual Conference
session, and Mr. Cooper had preached his farewell
sermons through all parts of the circuit, this quarterly
meeting drew together a very large concourse of
people. It was held at Joseph Hutchinson's, a few
miles distant from New Mills, on Saturday and Sunday,
August 23 and 24. At eleven o'clock on Saturday the
Rev. Mr. Budd preached “a beautiful sermon” to a
large assembly. Of the Sabbath service we have the
following from Mr. Cooper:

Sunday, 24. Love-feast began between eight and nine o'clock.
We had the preaching-house well stowed with friends, and a glorious
time we had. I don't know that ever I know the people to
get under a better way of speaking than they did to-day. The Lord's
Supper was administered between ten and eleven o'clock; then we
went into the open woods to preach, where we had near about two
thousand people. We, the preachers, got into a wagon, and then
the speaker stood in a chair, so that we could both speak to and see the
people. I preached the sermon from Acts xx, 31, 32. I had a field
opened to me, and both the people and myself were affected. The
power of the Lord rested on us. I don't think I ever saw so large a
congregation in the woods behave so well; every one appeared to
be still and attentive, an awe rested upon them, and I am persuaded
that much good was done. Brothers Mills and Cromwell exhorted,
and not in vain. After preaching I was, I believe, nearly an hour
in bidding the friends farewell. I don't know that ever I bid so
many people farewell, by shaking the hand, in one day before.

While space will not permit a much more extended
view of the circuit work, by Mr. Cooper and his colleague,
a recital of a few peculiarities will be in place, and
give pleasure to the interested reader. At Middletown
Point a family resided by the name of Francis. They
were strongly attached to the Protestant Episcopal
Church. Mr. Cooper, however, preached at the house
of Mr. Francis, on the 2d day of October, 1787, and
thereafter. The services, as was frequently done, alternated
between his and other families of the town as the
years rolled by. Mr. Francis had a daughter who, for
three or four years, had been demented, and who was
subject, at times, to fits of violence. When Mr. Cooper
first visited her father's family, she gave respectful
attention to his sermon, and could repeat passages from
it and from the sermon preached the next day in another
house in the village. She behaved as quietly as
any one, conversed seriously and intelligently with Mr.
Cooper, and impressed all who knew her with the fact
of the remarkable change that had taken place in her
conduct. Again: At Mr. Richard Ellis's, where preaching
was introduced by Mr. Cooper on the 13th of October,
1787, he found one of the old gentleman's daughters
to be in a melancholic condition, fearing that there was
no mercy for her. Her state being known to the community,
the enemies of the Methodists cried out, “The
Methodists have driven Mr. Ellis's daughter out of her
senses.” “Ah!” said one, “I am not going to hear
them preach, to be driven out of my senses.” The
spirit of opposition was manifested, also, in other places,
as, for instance, in Allentown, Pa., where, on the 3d day
of January, 1788, Mr. Cooper preached to a large congregation,
and on the day following visited the Rev.
Mr. Clark, rector, in Allentown, who had opposed the
Methodists. Says Mr. Cooper:

I wished to know what objections he had to our preaching in that
place, as l heard he had spoken against it. He said he had no objection
to my preaching, but he did not think I ought to preach in his
congregation without his consent. But I told him that I must preach
the Gospel; and if he would not consent for me to preach, yet, if
the people chose to hear me, I must not be silent. He signified that
I might go to other places, where there was no settled preacher. I
told him I thought some in his neighborhood needed preaching to as much as any people.

Such opposition was not, however, without its counterpart,
as will appear in the narration following. A
Mrs. Furman had died during the previous harvest
season, and was buried at Upper Freehold. Having
requested her daughter to have her buried in Shrewsbury,
she was disinterred, in February, and brought
thither, where Mr. Cooper preached a funeral sermon
over her remains in the Episcopal Church of that place.
In speaking of it, he says:

Unexpectedly to many, they gave a grant that I should preach in
the church, which I did—and a famous building it is.

The number of churches, or, as they were called,
meeting houses, was limited to four throughout the
bounds of the circuit in the beginning of the year, and
public service was, therefore, for the most part, held in
private dwellings, or school-houses, or barns, or Court-houses.
Of holding services in the latter, Mr. Cooper
thus speaks:

Thursday, April 10. To-day we made an effort to get a house in
Burlington to preach in; for I am quite tired of preaching in the
Court-house. We have preached there so long, and no good scarcely
has been done, I think it much better to preach in a private house
until we can get a house built for that purpose. It is true that there
is a considerable work here in Burlington, but the greater part, or
all, has been in private houses. What can be the cause I cannot
tell I refused to preach in the Court-house, and preached in the
house of Mr. George Smith.

Of the Methodist churches then on the circuit some
were too open and cold for the severity of winter, and
were, for the most part, closed during that season.
One, however, the church at New Mills, was better
adapted to the wants of the congregation; and on the
14th of April, 1788, steps were taken to secure its incorporation
according to law; trustees were chosen,
and the papers made out in due form for the record in
county clerk's office. Near Middletown preaching
was held regularly at the houses of Daniel Woolley,
Mr. Drummond, and Mr. Brinley. On the 8th of June
it was held in Mr. Brinley's barn, “where,” says Mr.
Cooper, “the people were much better accommodated
than they could have been in the dwelling house. I
hope they will soon have a preaching-house built here;
they have got about it.” Measures were also taken to
secure a church in Burlington, as the following quotation
will show:

Thursday, July 3. I spent the day in the city (Burlington). I drew
up a subscription paper to-day for the building of a preaching-house
in this place, with an intent to hand it out among the people, which
next day I did, and got more than L80 subscribed the first day. I
hope it will go on. I walked with friend Smith to view several lots,
of which he judged we might have our choice, in order to pitch upon one; two or three I liked, but one in particular I liked very much.

The membership had during the year increased from
372 to 526.

CHAPTER V.
METHODISM IN BALTIMORE, 1788, 1789.

THE session of the Philadelphia Annual Conference
opened in that city on the 23d day of September, 1788.
It was attended by Mr. Cooper, though he was too unwell
to take an active part in its deliberations. On Thursday,
the third day of the session, the ordination sermon
was preached; four persons were ordained, and the
Lord's Supper was administered. After this Bishop
Asbury, the Rev. Dr. McGaw, “a Church clergyman,”
and Mr. Cooper, dined with Mr. Fitzgerald. The Conference
was convened again at three o'clock P. M.,
when Drs. Rush and Clarkson met with the preachers,
by invitation, to express their sentiments respecting the
effects of spirituous liquors upon them that drank them.
In describing this meeting, Mr. Cooper says:

At three o'clock the Conference met, and Dr. Rush and Mr. Clarkson
met with us in order to give their sentiments respecting the effects of
spirituous liquors. The bore a great testimony against it, judging
that spirituous liquors never did any good, except in a very few cases,
but that they were the greatest poison to both body and soul of any
thing we had in our land. Dr. Rush said he found, by observation,
that a great many disorders were principally created by the use of
spirits. He further said, that he, for some time, had had the care
of the mad people, and had discovered that two fifths of them were
brought into their madness by the use of spirits. He judged it much
the best not to use them at all.

By this Conference Mr. Cooper was appointed to the
charge of Baltimore, with Francis Spry as his colleague,
and the Rev. Nelson Reed as elder over the district.
The charge had reported to the late Conference a membership
of, whites, 950; colored, 269; total, 1,219, and,
being then a circuit, embraced the following preaching
places: Baltimore, Fell's Point, Gatches, Austin's,
Owin's, Perrigo's, Wheeler's, Carnan's, Gorsuch's
Orrick's, Marshall's, Tipton's, Vaughan's, Reistertown,
Bozman's, Dorsey's, Jones's, Stone Chapel, Hunt's
Chapel, Hookstown, and Evans's. For various reasons,
one of them being that his colleague feared the small-pox,
then prevalent in and about the city, Mr. Cooper
took charge of the work in Baltimore and on Fell's
Point, and Mr. Spry that of the circuit outside of the
city, being aided therein by an occasional service by
Mr. Cooper. As this pastoral term was a season of
remarkable power, such as has rarely been witnessed
in the history of our Church, the following account,
hitherto unpublished, is given, which, though somewhat
elaborate, will be perused with delight by the descendants
of the Baltimore Methodists of 1788-89, and others
who are inspired by the spirit of the past. Mr.
Cooper prepared it at the request of Bishop Asbury,
and for the Church in general. It begins, A Brief Account of the Work in Baltimore; written by E. C. in an epistle to Bishop Asbury:

MY MUCH ESTEEMED BROTHER:

Pursuant to my promise, I undertake
the pleasing task of presenting you with an account of the great
and glorious work of God which went on in Baltimore during my appointment
and labors there. I am at a loss to determine upon the
most eligible method of giving this narrative, so that adequate ideas
may be formed of the admirable display of God's power and grace
upon and among the people. Had I not been present myself to see,
hear and feel the work, I doubt whether any description could have
given me just conceptions of it. It far exceeded any thing I ever
expected to see in this vale of tears; but blessed be God that I ever
saw such a work of religion, and, to the great joy of my soul, was in
the midst of it! I expect my narration of the matter will be but faint
to those who were present. It may appear very wonderful to many
who never saw such a work, but they may rest assured I shall not
exceed certain facts; nay, I verily doubt whether my review will
raise their ideas to the just magnitude of the incontestable truth of
the various facts given.

The 1st of October, 1788, that worth man, Brother Francis Spry
(now at rest), and myself, who were appointed colleagues, entered
upon our ministerial work in Baltimore—town and circuit. Brother
Spry, from fear of the small pox, together with some other circumstances,
stayed chiefly on the circuit; consequently I stayed in town.

You must know that Satan and many wicked men had been made
very angry by reason of a noisy, powerful meeting which was held
in the close of Conference; and, indeed, several of our worthy friends
were exceedingly tried, being prejudiced against what then appeared
to them as confusion insufferable in places of divine worship. Also
several were much tempted against you on account of some plain,
severe reproofs which you gave, in such close, and, as they thought,
general terms, that they concluded you called in question their sincerity
in religion, and condemned them as hypocrites altogether. I
have not the least doubt but that your rebuke was, in the end, productive
of much good. Those who were tried generally soon got
over it, and loved you as well, probably better, if possible, than ever.
There were various concurring circumstances which caused me to
labor under a series of severe exercises. I felt great need of the
wisdom of the serpent and the innocence of the dove. The God of
the Christian and the god of this world were at open war; the Spirit
of truth was powerfully striving with saint and sinner; but the spirit
of error and lies was diligently opposing them in all that was good.
It appeared that Michael and his angels fought, and the dragon and
his angels.

In all my measures I moved cautiously but steadfastly in all settled
points of discipline. It never was my choice or wish to govern or
rule—rather to be ruled—but whenever it has been your pleasure to
set me as an assistant, I always found it my duty to hold the reins of,
and use, discipline with exactness; also with mildness, or moderation.

Amid all my private and public trials and labors I felt a measure
of faith that God would revive his work. This encouraged me, and
increased my love, joy, and patience. I labored on, night and day,
both in town and on the Point, under great weakness of body. Often
the word, by divine energy, made a great move among the people, to
the melting of hearts and flowing of tears. I can truly say my mind
was exceedingly drawn out after precious souls. Frequently, while
preaching and praying, my soul would feel as if it were melted, and
flowing from the pulpit in streams of love through the house after and
among the people. I thus continued without seeing much fruit come
to maturity till the latter part of the winter.

In February, 1789, the glorious work broke out like a fire which
had a long time struggled for vent, and blazed forth in a flaming conflagration.
It first broke out on the Point; the friends there were
unanimous in forwarding and encouraging it. Soon the same flame
spread through town also. A general query passed to and fro among
the citizens: “What do these things mean?” Our meetings, it is true,
were very noisy, with penitential cries and shouts of praise. Many
could not bear this, but reprobated it as insufferable madness in places
of worship; some were afraid to say any thing for or against it; a
few were indifferent; while others, with animated zeal and humility.
supported it by argument and example.

On February 16 there was a most remarkable time on the Point at
a watch-night service, held by Brother Nelson Reed and three or four
others of our brethren the preachers. It is thought, at a moderate
calculation, thirty or forty were converted. This was the time when
Brother Reed fully entered into the spirit of this great and marvelous
work. From the effects then and the fruits since seen, a most
glorious and awful night it was. My heart, head, and hands now
were full, and engaged on every side in this mighty cause and work
of the Redeemer. I wanted help very much, finding more work than
one could do; accordingly I wrote to Annapolis for Brother John
Hagerty to come up with Brothers C. and L. to assist me, for one
week, to besiege town and Point every night alternately. They came
on Monday, the 2d of March, and stayed till the Friday following, in
which time the Lord favored us remarkably every night; it almost
appeared that every body was turning to the Lord, or thinking awfully
upon eternal things. However, we were sorry to find that
numbers braved it out, resisted the Holy Ghost, and opposed the
progress and power of truth.

Every evening in our congregations, which were uncommonly large,
the power of God was like a rushing mighty wind. The citizens
who never came to our church at other times now flocked thither in
abundance to see and hear what some called “the Methodistical rant
and enthusiastical madness;” but, poor creatures! they knew not
what they said, neither the power of God, nor what manner of spirit
we were of. Very hard things were spoken of the work and all who
promoted it. It always was the case; where God carries on a
remarkable work, Satan, like a roaring lion, stirs up all his wrath and
power against it. We pitied and prayed for our enemies and persecutors.
There were very few who listened with candor and looked
on impartially who were not seriously impressed with the conviction
that the work was more than of man, and really something divine.
*

* The-heart rendering cries and throbbing lamentations were truly awful
to hear. In one circle on the floor thirty or forty at one time, besides many
others in various parts of the house, lifting up their voices in penitential invocations:
“Save, Lord, save or we perish!” their gushing tears, like fountains
flowing, and writhing agitations, like convulsive throes on the human frame,
were enough to make the stoutest heart feel and tremble. “What shall I do
to be saved?” cried one; “Pray for me!” implores another; “Is there
mercy for a sinner like me?” inquires another; others cry out, “Lord save,
or I perish.” Thus all kinds of pathetic addresses to heaven for mercy,
pardon, and peace were heard through the church.

No wonder that the noise should be very dismal to some, when so
many were crying as out of the terrible pit, as under the pains of hell
which they felt in their souls, to a provoked Sovereign for his
favor, or else shouting praises to God for mercy and pardon found
while others were exhorting and praying with mourners, pressing
them to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to the saving of their souls.
The cries of the penitents strikingly put me in mind of the hopeless
shrieks or screams of the damned beneath, who have passed from the
reach of mercy, and cannot obtain a drop of water to cool their
tongue, being tormented in that flame. But, O! these were in a state
of probation, looking for and obtaining salvation. Also, when several
would join in the praise together who had just entered into life,
it raised my ideas of heaven, and the sweet chorus to be joined in there.
But this was like fresh arrows in the breast of those still under distress;
and as if their hearts were rending, and their hopes sinking,
they would cry out: “Has the Lord no mercy for me?” “What
shall I do?” “Am I a wretch undone and banished from God
forever?” “Lord, thou art just, but Christ has died! Bless me,
even me, O my Father and my God!” “Save! save! save! Lord
save from the wrath to come! Save, or I sink into hell!” Who
could hear this (infidels excepted) and not both pray for and exhort
them to trust and believe in Jesus?

It is thought that one night there were four thousand people in
and around the church in town; the street was crowded, and the
church surrounded. The work, each night, continued till one, two,
or three o'clock A. M., during the whole of which time less or more
were struggling into or after peace and pardon. Some were convicted
one night and converted the next; others, the night after; and some,
the same night; though the greater part had had awakenings before
for some time, but had never fully given up their hearts to take the
cross and follow Jesus. But, glory to the Lord! they now came like
doves to the ark of safety. It verily appears that these times bear a
great likeness to those of old, when it was said, “These people are
full of new wine.” Some, maliciously, either for diversion to themselves
or reproach to us, said we “worshiped God as if the devil was
in us.” ’Tis not doubted but that Satan was in many who cried so
lamentably for him to be cast out. And out of many he was cast, by
the power of the Holy Ghost, through faith in Jesus Christ. They
were first torn by Satan, then healed by Christ; their cries were, first
of sorrow, then of praise; and had these held their peace, the very
stones would have cried out.

In the time of this work I thought, surely nearly all the Lord's
people are prophets. From the foot to the head in the Church all
seemed ready to cast in their mite and do their part in promoting the
blessed cause. Now appeared to have come the days spoken of by
the prophet, that sons and daughters were to prophesy, and the
Spirit of the Lord to be poured out upon all flesh. The work thus
went on, none being able to make us afraid, or daring to do any thing
against it, more than with their tongues or lips, under which was
the poison of asps. Some enemies to the cross, I apprehend, had
malice and will, like tyrants, to slay and devour, but their hands were
bound by our civil and religious rights and privileges. Lord, grant
that these rights may extend to and be maintained in every nation!
Hierarchy, supported by a civil establishment, scarcely ever fails to
create a species of tyranny over the simple Gospel truth, as it would
otherwise operate in the consciences of men. We, feeling the benefits
of a deliverance from this oppression, and seeking the blessed effects
of a free, unshackled toleration in giving truth every advantage
to defend its cause and gain the hearts of men, we most certainly
should feel grateful, and ever praise the hand of Providence for
knocking off every human compulsion over the conscience of men in
our government. Some vainly thought, and were pleased to insinuate,
that we were aiming at government. I told them, frequently,
there was no such intention, nay, not the most distant purpose of
such a thing, and that we would as freely oppose a measure of that
nature as they would. And still I pray that our rulers may ever be
inspired with love to liberty and religion, and maintain the right and
privileges of the people. Whatever community flourishes, let it be
by the purity of its doctrines, strictness of its discipline, piety of its
members, and diligence of its ministers, not by political or civil
establishments.

Sunday, March 8. I received a considerable number into Society.
There had joined, in about four weeks, upward of a hundred members.
My work as a preacher still increased; I had little or no time for any
thing but to seek after souls. From day to day I passed from one
part of the town to another, also on the Point, visiting, comforting, encouraging,
exhorting, and praying with all I found under awakenings,
or who had set their faces Zionward. This visiting to and fro
was attended with singular success; it was made a lasting blessing
to my own soul and to those whom I visited. Whenever I heard of
any under distress, I made it my business, as soon as possible, to seek
after them, lest through delay the enemy of souls should get the advantage
and draw them again into vanity. Many things at night I
have been so exhausted that it was painful to walk or stand; nevertheless,
the next day I pursued the same method and track. At times
I thought I must give it up, being so weak in body; but the love of
Christ constrained me to go on, and venture my body and life for
souls; so I pressed forward in my fatiguing labor, preaching five and
six times a week, meeting classes every day, holding prayer-meetings
frequently, and visiting as above. The Lord supported me, and
through him I found it my chief delight, my element, my meat and
drink, to look after and feed the flock of Christ which he had purchased
with his own blood.

Many of the most abandoned offenders against God were brought
to the experience of true religion. Those who had, a little before,
been notorious sinners, could testify of the pardoning love of God in
the remission of their sins. This was “the Lord's doing, and it was
marvelous in our eyes;” instances of which had great effect in silencing
gainsayers. Indeed, what can be more convincing than to
look around and see upright, pious men walking circumspectly in the
fear of God, who a few months before were enormous perpetrators
of the most atrocious crimes? I frequently put this case to the people,
and asked: “Who that have a regard for social virtues, and wish
the destruction of their contrary vices, would contemn a measure productive
of such desirable effects?” The effects were visible to all who
would look around, not only upon one or two, but upon many. This
was enough to silence any reasonable man, though a deist, and did
generally shut up the mouths of opposers. I have cited these facts
when in conversation with persons of deistical notions, and they
have candidly yielded that, to their knowledge, great and good
effects, which are truly desirable in society, were wrought in our
meetings.

Some asked: “Could not those effects be produced without the
shouting and noise?” My reply was, generally, I did not know how
that might be, but this was certain, they were not produced before,
and I doubted whether they would have been, had not God worked
in this extraordinary manner; for I did not see or hear of any such
effects then being so extensive and general except where there was
this noise and power attending them. I also observed it was not the
noise that produced the effects, but the effects of the power which
produced the noise; though the noise, being principally the effect of
God's power among the people, might be attended with a great blessing
to the hearers and spectators, as it certainly was.

Others said: “All who make the noise are not sincere.” This I
believed (neither are all who are still and quiet sincere); but I believe
the greater part of those who were so powerfully wrought upon were
sincere. I thought it resembled the good seed sown in the field, but
an enemy came and sowed tares. Some said, “Pluck up the tares.”
I answered, “No, for in so doing we shall destroy the wheat also; let
them alone, by and by we shall gather the wheat, and the tares will
be left behind,” which soon was the case: the sincere came in and
the others were left.

Numbers expressed great sorrow that we, who before this work had
become a respectable community, had brought ourselves into reproach.
I remembered our Lord's words: “Woe unto you, when all men shall
speak well of you;” also, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.” I felt rejoiced that our reproach was not for
evil doing, but rather for righteousness' sake, which if we suffer we
are to be glad with exceeding joy. I am awfully afraid that many will
lose their souls through fear of reproach, and for a good name among
men. The cross is a mortifying thing to nature. A fashionable, honorable
religion, allowing the maxims, customs, and pleasures of this
world, many would like; but where gospel holiness, the pure religion
Christ, is preached and enforced—that we must deny ourselves of
all vanity, and walk the strait and narrow way of humility and
meekness, love and obedience—they pray to be excused. Happy for
those who have consented to have their names cast out as evil; to be
accounted mad or fools for Jesus Christ. For my part, I would much
rather go the way to heaven with a beggar than the way to hell with
a monarch. We are willing to bear reproach so long as it is for the
sake of righteousness.

My repeated advice to the people was, if they could not be
reconciled to these shoutings and powerful conversions, to let them alone,
lest they should be found fighting against God. If it was of man, it
would come to naught; but if of God, they could not overthrow it.
The longer it stood, and as it went on, more and more were reconciled,
and believed it to be of God. Indeed nothing but prejudice
or obstinacy could prevent our acknowledging it to be a display of
God's glory and power among men. It is a dangerous thing to impute
the work of God to Beelzebub, or the power of the devil; it
borders very nigh to blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.

I often derived much happiness from seeing those who for a
long time violently opposed the work at last come in and get converted
in the midst of shouting. Time passed delightfully; every
friend's house was like a church; the principal and delightful topic
among them was the work of God. Love filled their hearts; prayer
and praise employed their tongues, both day and night. Surely this
was “Life everlasting, and heaven below.” A remarkable union and
fellowship reigned among the brethren; they seemed to think, speak,
and act in conjunction; they strove to keep the union of the Spirit
in the bond of peace—all concerned for the promotion of the cause,
and the furtherance of each other in the divine life; they were hearty
in the matter, bearing up both preacher and people in the arms of
faith and prayer. Whenever we came together the fire of love seemed
to be already kindled in our hearts, which would glow from breast to
breast through the congregation. I am constrained to confess that if
ever I saw love, zeal, and humility among a people it was here,
through the course of this work, in Baltimore. O may these graces
ever subsist among them! may they ever be found among all our
community throughout the Connection! nay, among all the true followers
of Jesus! 'Tis this that makes our light shine before men, so
that they may see our good works, and be brought to an imitation
thereof, and glorify our Father who is in heaven. This constrains a
sinful world to say: “See how these Christians love!” Though this
was the case in general, yet, nevertheless, there were some crooked
sticks, or professors which were hard to make straight. A self-willed
member is always difficult to deal with; but the truly humble are
teachable, and always submissive to the regulated order of the
Church.

We had prayer-meetings established through various parts of town
and Point. Never a night but that there were meetings of some
kind—the echo of prayer and praise reverberated to and fro through
both town and Point, and from one to the other. There were several
prayer-meetings, sometimes the same night, in different private
houses, no one house being large enough to hold all, nor yet convenient
to those who wished to attend. Our class-leaders, and others
who prayed and exhorted in public, would divide, some going to one,
others to another meeting. Poor sinners could scarcely walk the
streets without being accosted by the sound of praying, singing or
exhortation. We had our regular nights and times to assemble in
the church, at which times they came from every part of the town,
having no other meetings—except that when we met in the town
church there would be other meetings on the Point; and, also, when
we met in the Point church they would hold their meetings in town.
I attended both churches regularly, in course, and as often as convenient
visited the prayer-meetings in the private houses.

In May, the time of Conference, you and a number of our
brethren the preachers were present, and saw a little of this work.
Numbers were then converted to God. The work on two nights
continued till one or two o'clock in the morning; but great as the
times then appeared, they were not to be compared with many others
which we had, for a genuine, powerful shaking among the dry bones.
Our brethren at Conference then saw what was frequently seen
among us, sometimes in a less, at other times in a greater degree. We
used to have less or more conversions every week. These glorious
seasons are to be remembered through eternity; for it is morally impossible
that what we then saw, heard, and felt, should ever be
erased from thought.

My appointment from Conference was to Annapolis; but you directed
me to continue in Baltimore till November, and Brother John
Hagerty to stay in Annapolis. Some weeks after Conference Brother
Thomas Foster came, by your appointment, to take charge of the
Point; this lightened my burden, having then the town only as my
charge. Through the summer the work still went on as usual.

Sunday, July 5. Was a great time on the Point, being the quarterly
meeting. At the afternoon, three o'clock, preaching and sacrament it
broke out, and continued till ten o'clock at night. The weather was
very warm, and the house crowded. We took out all the window-sashes
to admit the air. Several fainted, and were carefully conveyed into
private houses. The work was very deep and general that night.
The cries of mourners were very piercing; the most careless seemed
to be stunned and struck with awe; a considerable number were
converted. That night, Sister N. H., who had been under concern
for some time, was thoroughly broken in heart under deep distress,
and a short time after found peace with God up at the Forest quarterly
meeting, where was a great and powerful work. She still
walks with us in the light and the enjoyment of grace. O what
cause of joy it was to see so many coming home to the Lord!

Toward the end of July Satan had almost gained his point in setting
some of our friends at variance, which would unavoidably have
done great injury to the work of religion; but the Lord brought
peace. I plainly saw, “Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman
waketh but in vain.” Blessed he God, that “the devil was disappointed,
and hell missed her expectation!” The matter at first gave
me great uneasiness, lest the evil should grow. I exerted myself to
suppress it, and found great satisfaction in its destruction. O that
our brethren would guard against giving way to temptation, and
also be careful to give to each other no cause of trials!

About this time many of the professors of religion felt the need of
clean hearts, and were concerned for holiness. There was an encouraging
prospect of a sanctification taking place in the Church.
Some experienced it, but it did not go on to an extensive degree.

At our August quarterly meeting, and a few succeeding days, was
the most extraordinary work of any. It exceeded any thing I had
seen before, or, indeed, expect to see again.

The quarterly meeting began on Saturday, August 8. In the afternoon,
at sacrament, Sister H. M. J. (a cousin to our worthy Brother
P. R.), who had been concerned for some weeks, wanted to find rest
to her soul, but resolved not to cry out or make a noise. However,
feeling strangely, she went behind the pulpit, and there breathed out
her desires to God for mercy till she could refrain no longer, but
cried out aloud under deep distress. On the next day the Lord
blessed her with love, joy, and peace, to which she continues to hold
fast, and proves a pattern of piety to the young sisters, adorning her
profession to the present. O may she continue humble and watchful!
In the course of this work there were several instances,
similar to hers, of those who thought if they were converted they
would not cry out; some, that they would keep it a secret, and tell
it to no one at all. But they were mistaken; some of them cried
aloud, indeed; and all who got converted were ready to tell it
(like David), saying: “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I
will declare what he hath done for my soul.” I verily believe there
are none who feel this divine work in reality but are ready and
willing to speak of it to God's children. They have no desire to
keep it a secret, but wish to declare it to their brethren in Jesus.
Hence it is a true sign that those know but little about conversion,
internally and really, who pretend that it is a secret, to be concealed
from all but God and themselves.

Sunday, August 9. Love-feast began at eight o'clock, and a feast of
love it was. The flame kindled through the church as though every
heart had brought the fire of love burning with them. I don't remember
ever being in a love-feast where there was so general and
powerful a glowing and melting among the people. Surely the
Lord sent the angel of his presence with a living coal from the altar,
and applied it to every heart and tongue. There seemed to flow
words of fire from every mouth, while one after another, full of rapture
and love, arose and humbly declared the great goodness of God to
his or her soul. It was a pentecost indeed! We stood as on the
top of Pisgah, and viewed the land of which the Lord had said, “I will
give it you.” The love, joy, and power which we felt exceeds what
human language can fully express. We wanted wings to fly to “Life's
fair tree, fast by the throne of God.”

At eleven o'clock public preaching began; the word, like a two-edged
sword, pierced as it went. Stout and hard hearts were brought
to tremble, while tears flowed in abundance from almost every eye. It
was awful and solemn to behold the visible effects of divine power
which accompanied the preaching of the Gospel. Many who were
seldom affected on such occasions before, were shaken as if to the
center of their souls, and penitently wept as though they had been
sitting at the foot of the cross. At night we had a great time, and a
number of conversions. We continued till very late, and the whole
time some were crying for mercy, others shouting for joy. Now
quarterly meeting ended, but the greatest work was still to come!

Monday, 10. Early in the morning I was sent for by Mr. W. Buchanan,
to visit his daughter, who was under deep distress of soul.
When I went I found her almost exhausted, pensively lying in the
arms of Sister R. R. (a young woman who had lately found the Lord),
and there mourning and sobbing. She had slept none all night;
but spent the hours in weeping and praying. My heart was sensibly
touched at her situation; her sorrow was truly penitential. I exhorted
her to believe, and with confidence to venture her all upon
Christ; strove to press on her mind the all-fullness which dwells in
Jesus, and his willingness that she should receive out of that fullness
peace and pardon. I sung and prayed twice, and pointed her again
to a bleeding Saviour. But she could not believe; no peace could
she find till toward noon, when several friends had collected together
who sung and prayed till the Lord removed her burden, broke in
upon her soul, and filled her with peace and joy. Immediately a
general shout of praise ascended to God. The acclamation being
heard at a distance, and some one saying, “The fire has broken out at
Mr. Buchanan,” the alarm was given, “Fire, fire!” by some who
thought that the house was on fire. Immediately the fire-bell was
rung; the people came running to extinguish the flame. But, behold!
it was the fire of religion and divine love which had kindled,
and raised a shout in Mr. B's house at the conversion of his daughter
E. This flew through town like lightning, quickly extending to
every part thereof. Little P. B., about nine years of age, who had
found peace the day before, was so transported when her sister E.
found peace that she cried out: “O, how merry I am! Sister is
happy, sister is happy! I got happy on Sunday and sister on Monday!
The house was full of prayer and praise; the people would
have crowded in too much, but were prevented; the passage was
full; some climbed up on a pile of wood, which lay at the end of the
house, in order to look in through the windows, being anxious to see
and hear what was being done, and how the happy souls rejoiced together.
O Lord, the good that is done thou doest it thyself!

The same morning, at ten o'clock, a few mourners in deep distress
went to Brother N. Jones's, to get Brother and Sister Jones to pray
with them. They sang and prayed together, the power of God came
down, and a great outcry and shout was raised. This spread through
town; the people, in amaze, collected from all parts, and soon filled
the house both above and below stairs; the street also was filled
with astonished spectators. In the house the mourners and believers
were all in full expectation, the professors being on a stretch for
purity of heart, and the penitents for pardon. The people came and
went constantly throughout the day, for it never broke up, nor was
there any intermission all day. Numbers were converted, and several
professed sanctification. Some came with all the indifference
about religion that careless minds could possess, and got convinced
and converted before their return; particularly, a young man and a
young woman experienced this. The young man, when he came up,
appeared to be quite in a pet, and dropped some sarcastic expressions;
but when he looked on and listened awhile his heart grew
tender, and tears began to flow; he pressed in among the mourners,
and down he came and cried for mercy till his soul was delivered;
then he arose and praised God.

Toward evening I had a table set out, over the street from Brother
Jones's house, on which I mounted and spoke for some time to a
surrounding audience, who heard with profound attention. A sea-captain
who was there had his heart reached, who had before been
quite thoughtless about his soul. All the time I spoke from the table
the house continued full, the prayers and cries of mourners were
plainly heard across the street where I stood. It was, of a truth, a
most awful scene. Solemnity and dread rested upon the countenances of the people.

When night came on we repaired to the church, as there were
many still under distress, unwilling to break up without the blessing
of peace and pardon. As we passed to the church with the mourners,
who wept as they went, the people flocked through the streets,
and in a little time the church was filled with men, women, and children.
The work went on till two o'clock in the morning, continually
less or more struggling in fervent prayer after salvation. No unprejudiced
person could have looked on without feeling his heart to
be, in some measure, affected. Numbers, after they passed through
the house and listened to the cries and heard the prayers of mourners
and compared them together, finding the agreement and similarity
between them, were constrained to acknowledge the power of God—it being too wonderful to be of man alone. Some were two or three
hours in constant agony under the burden of guilt, some on their
knees, others prostrate on the floor, others in the arms of their
friends; all bitterly crying to God for mercy. When such distressed
souls found rest, who could refrain from feeling joy? As those deliverances
were frequent, peal after peal of shouting praise ascended to
the great Redeemer.

I apprehend that thousands of citizens came together that night.
Some came and went several times, not being easy there or at rest
away. Indeed hearts must be callous not to feel on seeing and
hearing these things. O Lord, wonderful and great are thy works;
marvelous are thy doings! Unto thee, O Lord, give we the glory!
These sixteen hours, from ten o'clock Monday till two o'clock Tuesday
morning, we had no intermission, except while passing from the
private house to the church, which could hardly be called an interim,
as the beginning of service in the church was before all got from the
private house. On Tuesday it was much like unto Monday; at eight
o'clock several collected in a private house in another part of the
town, for prayer. They began, the news of it spread, the seekers
came together, and soon the house was filled. This was a great day,
also, though not quite equal to the day before. However, we had
some as remarkable conversions as I ever saw. Numbers could
testify that that was the day of their espousal to Jesus. The meeting
continued all day, and at night we repaired to the church, as above,
where we were till ten o'clock, making fourteen hours in all.

These two days the devil's kingdom suffered great loss; his power
was sadly shaken. Religion now became the common topic of conversation
through town in almost every company. You could scarcely
enter a shop, walk the street or market, but that you heard the people
on the subject of our shouting meetings and the numerous conversions
among us. A panic had seized upon numbers, who knew not what to
be at or do; some railed, others were afraid, while others approved
of what had passed among us. It was the cry of some, “The Methodists,
at this rate, will get all the people.” To see thirty or forty join
us on a Sabbath day, besides others through the week, which was
frequently the case, was matter of grief and aggravation to those who
envied our success. The work went on daily. The felicity which I
enjoyed was very great indeed—hard ways seemed easy.

Sunday, September 27, was another very extraordinary time. The
whole day was a favorable season, but at night the Lord poured out
his Spirit in a powerful manner. We had several conversions. This
night young Jon. Dagan and Jacob Welch had a long struggle for
peace, but found rest soon, one after the other, when a general acclamation
of praise passed through the church. A most affecting sight
it was to see these young men embrace each other, also their friends,
and mingle together their tears of joy and voices of praise. It was
enough to melt a heart of stone. Another young man, in the transport
of his soul, cried out, “Glory! Glory to God! He has pardoned
my sins! I have been a captain among devils, but now I am happy in
God! What I feel is worth more than ten thousand worlds. O, what
will heaven be, since such a paradise is here? I would sooner go in
extreme poverty and be thus happy, than have the church full of gold
and be a sinner as I was!” That night I received upward of forty
members into society, who came up in the usual way, one after another,
and gave in their names. The work was very genuine and powerful.
As general a solemnity rested on the people as at any time through
the work; though the work of conversion was not so extensive as it
had been before.

Monday, September 28. I preached the funeral of Sister Killen, in
the Dutch Church, to not less than a thousand hearers. To take her
all through her illness, she was one of the happiest souls I ever saw
on a sick bed. She had a long spell of sickness, but, blessed be God!
she had set out in religion and found peace a few months before her
death. She, likewise, was a witness of perfect love. After the
burial I rode up to Captain C. Ridgley's, in company with not less
than one hundred people, where we had a watch-night service. Seven
or eight preachers were there, and a large concourse of people.
Brother Wilson preached a most moving sermon, and soon after we
had a general shout. The services continued till about two o'clock
in the morning. A number of souls were converted to God, and
more than a hundred persons stayed all night at the captain's.

Some time in the month of September was the singular conversion
of Sister A. R., in time of family prayer, at Brother J. H.'s, while
Brother Nelson Reed was at prayer. When the Lord broke in upon
her soul she seemed quite carried from earth to heaven. “O Brother
Reed, Brother Reed!” she cried, “you have prayed me to heaven.”
She asked, “Am I in heaven?” She still says that for some time
she knew not where she was, but thought she could see into heaven.
when she got recollected a little she flew to all the family, in ecstasy,
to declare the glory which she felt, and to press them to fly to Jesus
for the same. I was not present at the time, but Brother Reed, and
she herself, gave me the information. The first time (after she had
found peace) that she saw me was as we were meeting; at some
distance she reached out her hand toward me, and hallooed aloud,
“O, Brother Cooper, I have found peace! I have found peace!”
This seemed strange to those who knew not what divine happiness
was; but who can hold their peace when full of joy? This was frequently
the case—those who found the Lord, when they saw me,
published first of all what God had done for their souls.

Nothing could have been so delightful as the seeing of old and
young, male and female, giving up to serve God; quitting their former
delights, pleasures, and vanities, and boldly taking up their cross
and patiently bearing it after a once crucified, but now exalted, Saviour.
It exceedingly mortified the wicked who stood it out that
their companions and associates should quit their company and refuse
any longer to go with them in vanity. How worthy of a probation
for eternity, to have fortitude enough to leave the company and practice
of wicked men! And how amiable in youth to devote the bloom
of their days to the service of God, willingly foregoing all the pleasures
and vanity of this world, in order to follow their Saviour through
the regeneration to true and permanent happiness! In the time of
this work, while I was there, about two hundred young people set
out for heaven, and joined in society. In all, upward of four, if not
five, hundred, old and young, were added to our Church, the principal
part of whom were living witnesses of Jesus's love. Many others
who had not joined when I left there were engaged in the pursuit of
joys eternal, and have come in since under my succeeding brethren.
Under Brother H., upon the Point, and Brother W., in town, the work
prospered and went on, there being many convictions and conversions,
of which I can say but little more than the Lord made these
brethren a blessing to the people.

Through the course of this work it was very admirable to see children
engaged, as many were. Little girls and boys were enabled to
praise the Lord and intelligently to speak their experience, to the
wonder of those who heard them. Out of the mouths of babes and
sucklings the Lord ordaineth praise.

I have given you an account of this work in concise terms, which
I have taken from minutes made in the time of it. Many occurrences
which might be worthy of notice I have forgotten, they not being
minuted; others I have passed over for brevity. Were I to be
minute or particular it would fill a considerable volume. I wish it
may ever again be my happiness to see such another work. Surely
it is very desirable to behold hundreds turning to God! daring sinners
becoming humble saints! lions becoming lambs! enemies turning
into friends! The work spread through the country around
town, some distance in the circuit. Some few are, since, fallen away;
but the greater part stand fast, and I hope will till the day of
eternity.

To close this epistle, I beg leave to add a few sentences relative to
myself and the friends of whom I have been giving you this account.
It was a season of great labor, trials, and happiness to me. My heart
was particularly united to the friends whom I loved, and still love,
in the truth. But when, by appointment, I was called to leave them,
with resignation I bade them “Adieu,” commending them to God and
the word of his grace.

It is still my prevailing desire to live to God, and spend my days to
some purpose under the sun. I feel myself to be a feeble child of
mortality, subject to the numerous and various infirmities of mortal
life. I am also a necessitous creature; 'tis by grace through faith
alone I stand. My heart is much united to our discipline and
Church. O may it ever be the Church of Christ! While preachers
and people remain humble, loving, teachable, and little in their own
estimation, and strong in union, the Lord will bless and prosper our
connection. But, should we ever turn aside, or relapse into the
spirit of the world, or formality, the Lord will remove our candlestick
out of its place. He will take the blessings from us as a people
and give them to another. O may preachers and people be one
in heart and life! May the Lord preserve us by his power!

My esteemed friends in Baltimore, Brother Philip Rogers in particular,
and all others whose fellowship, friendship, and kindness I
experienced, after gratefully thanking them for their instances of
brotherly love, I must admonish to keep in mind the grand end of
their calling. This may be read by some of them when I am laid in
the tomb to mingle with my native dust. If so, being dead, I shall
then speak; and now I speak, yet living, pressing them so to run
that they may obtain. O, brethren, if these lines come under your
notice, remember my labor of love among you! Watch carefully!
Pray fervently! Live humbly! Suffer patiently! Continue loving!
Walk circumspectly! Fight the fight of faith manfully,
that you may come off victoriously, and reign triumphantly in heaven,
where I hope to meet you when all our toils and sufferings are over.
Amen! Lord grant it!

The history above recited gives such a glowing account
of the development and growth of the Methodist
Episcopal Church in Baltimore during the pastorate of
Mr. Cooper, that but little more need be said in connection
with the period under review. As has been
stated, though Mr. Cooper's pastorate, as by the Minutes
of the Annual Conference, is represented as closed
in May, 1789, he was continued in the charge until October
of that year, Fell's Point having been formed
into a separate charge, and put under the pastoral
care of Rev. Thomas Foster. Also the Rev. Francis
Spry, who by the Minutes aforesaid is represented
as if having died previous to the session of the Annual
Conference in Baltimore, was still living when
that body closed its session, as will be seen by the following
statement made by Mr. Cooper. The Annual
Conference opened on Tuesday, May 5, and was closed
on Thursday, the 7th. Says Mr. Cooper, under date of
Saturday, May 23:

About half after eleven o'clock I set off to see Brother Spry once
more, who lay on the Point with the small pox; but I had not gone
far before news came to me that he was dead. I can truly say that
I was much affected, more so than I had been at any death for some considerable time.

Sunday, 24. We met at eight o'clock in the morning for the funeral
of Brother Spry. We were attended by an uncommonly numerous
train of sorrowful friends and respectable citizens—thought to be a
thousand who followed to the grave—and then we returned to the
church, or preaching-house, when I preached on the melancholy occasion
from 1 Tim. iv, 7 8, to, I judge, fifteen hundred souls. We
had an affecting time, especially in my improvement. All this day
was a solemn season to me. I don't know that I ever more sensibly
felt the death of any one than of this promising young man. His
death, according to human appearances, is a great loss to the Church
of which he was a member; but our loss is, no doubt, his gain.

In the Baltimore Society was yet continued that early
association of Methodists known as the bands. These
were met regularly, from month to month, and were
seasons of the display of the Holy Spirit's power. Fridays
were observed as days of fasting, or abstinence,
and public intercession. At the latter children as well
as adults were cared for, as may be seen by the following
quotation. Says Mr. Cooper, under date of November
7, 1788:

Friday, 7. At intercession I think there were more than fifty children,
the oldest of whom did not appear to be more than ten years
of age. Dear little children, how my heart was set upon them! I
addressed them for, I suppose, fifteen minutes, in a plain, persuasive
way, teaching them that they should be good and serve the Lord
while young. While I was speaking in a tender way they gave
great attention, and some I saw weeping; their dear hearts appeared to be tendered.

It was Mr. Cooper's privilege, with all the fathers of
our Church from her earliest days, to guide the children
associated with us into the paths of righteousness,
and to witness in numberless instances their conversion
to God in the days of their youth.

CHAPTER VI.
METHODISM IN ANNAPOLIS, MD., 1789, 1790.

WE have seen that though Mr. Cooper had been appointed
to the charge of the Methodist Episcopal Church
in Annapolis in May, he was, by Bishop Asbury's instructions,
continued in charge at Baltimore until October,
1789. He assumed the pastorate in Annapolis on Friday,
October 9, and held it until the 20th day of January,
1791, when, by the instructions of the bishop, he
repaired to Alexandria, Va., for pastoral work in that
field.

He had visited the town previously, as the following
extract from his diary will show. Says he:

Tuesday, March 31. Mr. Lynch and I rode down to Annapolis. I
was weary of my ride before I reached the city. We continued there
till Friday. I preached the first evening, Brother Lynch the second,
and I, again, the third. We had a considerable number of hearers,
and pretty good times.

Wednesday, April 1. I dined at friend Ridgley's.

Thursday, 2. At friend Wilkerson's, and was sent for to drink tea
with Dr. Murray. Annapolis is a small place, but 'tis an agreeable
situation—a beautiful prospect. But it is lamentable that the great generally reject religion.

Annapolis was at this time a station having a membership
of two hundred and sixty nine, one hundred
and forty of whom were colored. Of the latter the
vast majority were slaves, and, as such, enlisted the
sympathy of the Church, which from her organization
had denounced the system of Negro slavery as vile and
wicked. The Rev. Abel Stevens, LL.D., is in error in
the statement made by him, to the effect that Methodism
as early as 1787 failed to fight courageously in the
contest against slavery; for it will be seen that,
notwithstanding the threats of pro-slavery men, the
preachers of that day dared the violence of their enemies
in proclaiming, “All men are free by nature.”
An illustration of this will appear in the details of the
period now under examination.

The religious services of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in Annapolis, at this time, were: preaching
on Sunday morning, afternoon, and evening; prayer-meeting
on Tuesday evening; preaching on Thursday
evening, and class-meetings on Friday evening. The
“society at large” was met on Sunday morning before
preaching; and other meetings were held—bands and
classes—on Monday and Wednesday evenings.

One of the first public evils that Mr. Cooper had to
encounter was the annual public races, of which some
one falsely reported that Mr. Cooper and several of the
Methodists attended them; the former seeking a private
place wherein he might escape public observation.
following is his account of the whole affair:

Monday. October 12. I was not a little sorry at beholding the preparations
for the races which begin to-morrow in the fields. What
pains the children of this world take to do wickedness! O Lord, have
them! Since last year's races a number in this town have
deserted Satan, are converted, and will not go this year. Glory to
God for it!

Tuesday, 13. There was a great hurry through the town, it being
the time of Satan's work. The wicked had collected from various
parts. The races held three days, in which time I found it almost a
cross to walk the streets. I could look no way but that I saw cause
of lamentation. O Lord, when will the wickedness of the wicked
end, and thy cause universally flourish? In the evening we had a
prayer-meeting, a number collected, and, I hope, all was not in vain.

Wednesday, 14. I heard that the wicked were propagating lies
about the poor Methodists and the races. Somebody reported that I inquired of a gentleman whether I could not get a private place to
look, and that some of the Methodists were there, etc. Blessed be
God that these reports are not true!

Having spent about three weeks on the Peninsula,
among his friends and relatives, he returned to Annapolis
on the 16th day of November. He was visited in
the evening by two gentlemen of the Maryland Assembly,
then in session, and the next day attended the session
of that body to listen to a debate by them on the
subject of freedom. He thus set it forth in his diary:

Tuesday, 17. I attended the House of Assembly to hear the subject
of freedom debated. Petitions had been sent in for the abolition
of slavery, which caused considerable debate in the House. A certain
Mr. Pinkney; from Harford, espoused the cause of the poor slaves,
and defended it powerfully. He is truly an orator, and spoke to the
feelings of men in behalf of the poor bond-race that struggles under
the yoke of oppression and discouragement by reason of unjust and
inhuman laws, depriving them of that which the laws of nature allow
to every man. The majority of the House appeared in favor of abolition
in some way or other, believing it to be cruel to have a hereditary
slavery entailed upon any part of the human race. I had great
satisfaction in finding the poor oppressed had so many on their side,
and the ablest speaker in the House among them. There is a fair
prospect of gaining the point for them.

Mr. Cooper further showed his aversion to slavery
by publishing a series of articles in the Maryland
Gazette, a weekly newspaper then published in Annapolis,
in advocacy of the freedom of the colored
slave, under the signature of “A Freeman,” in which
he boldly denounced American slavery as a vile sin
from which the sons of liberty should free themselves,
and, on the fourth day of July, 1790, with Rev. J.
Chalmers, boldly proclaimed from his pulpit his opposition
to the system. Thus he writes:

Sunday, July 4. When I arose and looked out at my window I
saw the colors raised on the State-house dome. I called to mind independence—this being the day on which it was declared, and the
occasion of raising the colors. I was here called into a serious chain of
meditation upon freedom. Is it not astonishing that a country so much
devoted to freedom should act so inconsistently as to continue civil
slavery in it? This subject was a little dwelt upon from the pulpit
to-day: the inconsistency and injustice of slavery among us as a free
people—the sin of it as a people professing the Christian religion. “If
the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall he free indeed.” There
was no better day to fall upon this subject than the day of Independence.
May the Lord fasten conviction upon many hearts! Brother
Chalmers did enforce the matter very homely and plainly, and
charged the people if any impressions were made not to stifle them;
for he was certain that God would send some judgment upon those
who were obstinate. He then mentioned a very awful circumstance
which happened a little while ago, namely: A gentleman at a vendue
were Negroes were being sold resolved to buy and send them to
Georgia to make his market of them. One had a friend of his own color,
who was free, that bid for him to free him. This man who wanted
him bid on, till the poor black friend, having no more money, thought
it vain to bid anymore. The poor slave was about to be struck off to
him who intended to send him to Georgia, but, being encouraged by
a person of feeling who was present, the black man's friend bid once
more. This gentleman, being resolved to have him for his Georgia
market, was going to run the bid on, when on a sudden he was struck
with a judicial stroke from God, and fell dead on the spot. What
shall we say to this well-attested fact? Let none make light of it.

After we had borne our joint testimony upon the subject of freedom,
I felt as if good was done. When going out of the preaching-house
I met a young doctor who has Negroes. “Well,” said I,
“This is Independence,” and took him by the hand. He replied,
“The matter's settled; mine go free.” Walking in the street, I fell
in with a lady of the city with whom I was acquainted. “Well,” I
spoke, “what thinkest thou of freedom?” She replied: “When
the subject was taken up I felt uneasy, and was sorry to hear it;
but I soon got reconciled that it should, must, and would be so.
But O that I was free myself!” Here, she alluded to the state of
spiritual liberty. “Well,” said I to her, “give up your heart to
Christ and he will make you free.” This has been a favorable day
among us from morning till night.

The effect of these bold utterances upon the citizens
who heard them may be inferred from the following.
Says Mr. Cooper:

Wednesday, 7. I was told in the afternoon that the people in
town were alarmed by our speaking up for freedom last Sunday
night—the day of Independence. They fear it will hurt the Negroes;
Some are simple enough to fear an insurrection. If they fear, the
ground of their fear must be their own injustice in keeping those
poor creatures in slavery whom God made free. But, let them
fear and he alarmed as they may, I must plead the cause of the innocent,
and in so doing I have the word of God, and our own civil principles
to uphold me. “Liberty is the theme.” Our country and
the Gospel, the principles of humanity and religion, cry out, “Take
off the yoke of oppression, and let the captives go free.” I am ready
to defend what I advanced last Sunday night from the pulpit, and I
believe Brother Chalmers can readily answer to what he advanced.
The justness of the subject is what gives the panic to those who wish
to keep themselves quiet in the act of injustice. (See Addenda.)

Not only did Mr. Cooper witness the manifestation
of the spirit of the Maryland Assembly against slavery,
but he was called also to see that before that body a
bill had been presented providing for the incorporation
of the Church in the State with the State, thereby
rendering the State an ecclesiastical political institution.
Against this measure there was raised a voice of
opposition which in the end, after a sharp contest, secured
its defeat. The Methodists of the present day
will read with deep interest the following letter from
the pen of Bishop Asbury, addressed to Mr. Cooper,
and now published for the first time.

FISHING CREEK, November 16, 1789.My DEAR BROTHER:

I am of opinion that the Act of Incorporation
will, probably, stand a prosperous poll. If any thing can be
done to let ** The word “let,” is here used in its former sense, namely, prevent, hinder.
it, I wish you to move every spring against it. You
have just ideas of this political scheme. It will not do for us. We
have no church property but our churches; who will contend with
us for these, or put us out of the possession of them? I am persuaded
that many of the members or those churches who pray for incorporation,
when they feel the effects, will cry out against it. You can
do something with the Eastern Shore members, as a native, and you
have some acquaintance with Western Shore members, and you may
use all your influence if it is not too late. God has been wonderfully
with us at all our quarterly meetings. I think we shall have wonderful
times.

I am thine in haste and much love,F. ASBURY.P. S. It may plainly be declared what this bill is: that it is a Jesuitical
plan. Why did not the people form and present this bill, and not
the ministers? I doubt not but that the people will feel properly
when it comes into operation, and they will cry under their burdens.If you could be spared to go to Philadelphia I should be glad, for
Satan is strongly fortified in that city. There is heavy work, you may
be sure. I was thinking we should see more about these matters at
the Council. F. A.

This letter, which was received by Mr. Cooper three
days after its date, and answered on the 30th of November,
found him in such a situation that he could
not personally urge the adoption of its suggestions, nor
could he attend the session of the Council in Baltimore
because of his embarrassments. He had a brother
who, with his family, lived a few miles out from Annapolis,
who was suddenly called to eternity. On Tuesday,
November 24, he rode up to visit his sister-in-law, expecting
to find her bearing her grief bravely; but lo!
he found her dying. She died before night, and left
two children, without father or mother, the care and
charge of whom fell on him. On Thursday, the 26th,
both husband and wife were buried at Captain Warfield's,
and the afflicted brother was left to care for the
family and possessions left behind. As the relatives
of the deceased were residents of the Peninsula, Mr.
Cooper deemed it the better course for him to convey
the surviving members of the family, as soon as possible,
across the Chesapeake Bay. He thus describes the
course he pursued:

Friday, November 27. I got all aboard the boat and went down
the river to Annapolis, ready to cross the bay as soon as possible.
I found it a sorrowful time indeed. I scarcely ever met with such a
trial before as the care of the children and effects are to me; having
the bay to cross, knowing very little of the water, having water-men
to get to sail us over, provisions to procure, and various matters
hurrying in upon my mind.

It was a great satisfaction to me that the brethren in Annapolis
were so kind. I got little Tommy and Nancy, my brother's children,
at Brother Ridgley's. I shall not forget the kindness of my dear Sister
Ridgley in receiving the dear children. She is, indeed, an amiable
woman. Likewise Sister Packer, who lives with her, was very loving
to the little ones. I feel myself under great obligations to them;
likewise to that mother in Israel, Sister Small, who took the Negro
woman and her two children into her kitchen till I could get a good
day and fair wind to cross.

While waiting for a favorable opportunity to convey
his charge to the Eastern Shore, on the Sabbath intervening
he underwent a course of labor unknown to the present
generation of preachers, of which he thus speaks:

Sunday, November 29. This was a hard day of labor to me.
Love-feast at nine o'clock, preaching at eleven, preaching again at
three followed by sacrament, after which I met the stewards and leaders, by which time I was I truly weary.

On Tuesday, December 1, he embarked, with those
under his charge, from Annapolis for the Eastern
Shore. He had a successful passage, made arrangements
with his relatives for the children and goods,
and every-where met with utterances and acts of sympathy
from those who before had known his departed
brother and himself.

On Sunday, December 13, he preached the first sermon
that was delivered in the new Methodist Episcopal
Church built at the Head of Wye, and two days
thereafter returned to Annapolis, where he had the
satisfaction of meeting with Bishop Asbury and Rev.
Messrs. Whatcoat and Reed, from whom he learned of
the proceedings of the Council held in Baltimore.

In October, 1789, Mr. Cooper received a letter from
Rev. Jesse Lee, then a pastor in New England, of
which a copy is here presented:

August 11, 1789. STANDFORD, N. ENGLAND.DEAR BROTHER:

I received yours of June 6, 1789, and was much
pleased at the account you gave of the work of God in your parts
and among my old friends. Would to God the same increasing flame
was seen and felt in this place! I should be exceedingly glad to be
with you, if I could think I ought to be there. But I feel as if I was just
where God would have me to be. I feel happiness in God, my constant
friend, though which deprived of Christian company. I find
few lively Christians in these parts, and I go on for many days
together without seeing any one on his knees.

I have a pretty little two-weeks' circuit to myself, about one hundred
and thirty miles in circumference, and in that distance I see
upward of twenty preaching-houses. The Presbyterians have a
meeting-house, with a large steeple, and a great bell, for every four,
five, or six miles. Withal there are a good many churches. But it
is to be feared that many of the ministers are not engaged in the
work. The Presbyterians are the established religion, and every
person is obliged to pay to them, unless he has a certificate from
some other society; but they are obliged to support some minister or
other. I think the time is come to favor New England, and, if I had
acceptable preachers with me, I believe we should soon cover these
States. I have some thought of writing to Brother Asbury to send you
to this place after the meeting of the Council. If you are desired to
come, I hope you wont object. If you knew this place, and how
many souls are ready to sink into hell, it would make your bowels
yearn over them, and I think you would wish to come over and help
us. I never knew the want of help, both from God and man, more
than I have done of late. Give my love to my old friends in town.

I am your sincere friend and loving brother,JESSE LEE.P.S. If you can send a letter to the preacher at New York it
will soon come to me. J. L.

This letter, not hitherto published, gave Mr. Cooper
to see that his services were desired east and west,
north and south, but he was still continued in the station
at Annapolis, looking and praying for the revival
of God's work in the Church, and the salvation of
the many who were “without Christ and without God
in the world.” To aid him in this work were many
others—“Mother” Small, Messrs. McCubbin, Chalmers,
Steward, Ridgley, Wells, and Swift, while the good-will
of some who had not been converted was unreservedly
expressed, to the satisfaction of those who had found
Christ to be their Saviour. In illustration of this the
following is presented, as found in his diary:

Wednesday, January 20, 1790. Major Daniel, of St. Thomas Jenifer,
sent his servant and carriage for me. I rode up in the afternoon and
found particular satisfaction there. By candle-light I met a black
class at the major's. He attended with very serious attention, and,
I hope, thinks of his latter end. May the Lord change him! Nothing
is too hard for the Almighty to do.

This old gentleman's home became a place for preaching
by Mr. Cooper, who formed a class of appointments
outside of the town where he was stationed, among
which were Beard's (over South River), Watters's,
Steward's, Weems's, and Mrs. Watkins's. At the latter
Methodism had not hitherto been introduced.

As the work advanced the devoutly-prayed-for spirit
of revival was manifested, and citizens who before had
stood aloof from the assemblages of the Methodists
became converts to Christ, and patrons of those who
proclaimed the necessity of holiness of heart.

While Mr. Cooper spoke with great plainness and
force against the vices of society, he was equally bold
in denouncing all pageantry among the people. An instance
of this is presented in the following extract. A
Mrs. Allen, who had become a member of the church in
Annapolis, having died, her friends looked to Mr.
Cooper for counsel as to the burial ceremonies. He
says:

Friday, July 9. I preached a funeral sermon at the burial of Mrs.
Allen, from Eccl. xii, 7. We had a large congregation in the
preaching-house, and a great number accompanied us to the grave.
Her friends consulted me as to the mode of her burial. I requested
no pall-bearers, which I think is nothing but a parade, the pall on the
coffin is sufficient. I desired no hat-hands (crape) or any thing which
was of no service and bore the aspect of vanity or pride. And as
to the use of spirituous liquors at funerals, I despise the custom as unbecoming
the solemnity of the occasion. It is out of character and a
great evil. Many are glad of a funeral that they may get something
to drink. I bore my public testimony against it to-day before some
hundreds of the people.

At this time a letter was received from Dr. Coke,
though it had been written more than eight months
before. It is here given:

BRISTOL, October 30, 1789.MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

When on board the ship which
brought me from New York to England I prepared a letter for you,
which I sent by the captain of the same ship, and hope you have
received.

The work of God in these kingdoms still goes on, but not with that
rapid progress as in the States of America, or with the singular outpouring
of the Spirit with which we have been favored in Virginia
and Maryland. There were about three thousand added on the balance
last year to the societies in England, and about two thousand in
Ireland. I have sent over to Bishop Asbury about three hundred
copies of the Minutes of the English Conference, etc., and, therefore,
you will probably receive one.

I long to hear of the continuation and further increase of the work
of God in the United States. Write to me a couple of letters at least
before I have the pleasure of seeing you again, which will be, God
willing, next spring twelve months. Indeed, I shall set sail, if the
Lord please, for the West Indies about next September or October.
And I should be glad if you would write to our dear old friend and
father, Mr. Wesley; for he complains of his hearing very seldom from
any of his sons in the United States. He seemed much pleased at
the account I gave him of the preachers preaching early in the morning
in the different cities and towns which I visited the last time
I had the pleasure of seeing my American brethren.

I bless the Lord I do feel an unremitted desire to glorify him in
the salvation of souls. But, O how little do I do for him in comparison
to what I would; and, for that little, to him be all the praise and
all the glory!

Our work in the West India Islands prospers very much among the
Negroes. We have now above six thousand in society, a few of whom
only are whites.

And now, my dear brother and friend, let me entreat you to continue
your zeal for God and his cause. Be much in prayer, much in
the exercise of the presence of God. The enemies of the Church
of Christ are, alas! too active. Let us be as active, and, if possible,
more so, in the best of causes and for the best of masters; and our
Lord will make us the honored instruments of wresting the prey out
of the hands of the mighty! Never fear; God is, and will be, for us,
and, I believe, will make the Methodist Connection the grand instrument
of bringing on the much-to-be-wished-for, the most-ardently-to-be-prayed-for,
millennium. O that we may be found faithful; that
we may esteem it an honor to be instruments in any measure in the
hands of God for the hastening of the accomplishment of his benign
plan of general happiness!

Bear me frequently on your mind before the throne; lift up your
feeble but faithful friend on the sacrifice of your faith. He longs to
see the whole continent flame with the glory of God; and he never
forgets the work in which you are engaged. Through the blessing
of God he will see you face to face again, if the Lord permit; and
through the grace of God we shall meet where parting shall he no
more. Adieu.

Your faithful friend and brother, THOMAS COKE.

In accordance with the suggestion of Dr. Coke, Mr.
Cooper prepared a letter to send to the venerable
Mr. Wesley, of which we present to the reader the
following extract:

MY AGED AND HONORED FATHER IN CHRIST:

I believe I should
have written to you long ago, but for the following reason, to wit:
I thought myself of too little account to intrude upon your golden
and precious time. But, receiving a letter from Dr. Coke a few days
ago in which your name is so engagingly mentioned, I venture to
take my pen, with due reverence, and address the man whom God
has made the leading instrument of spreading his name among so
many thousands, both in Europe and America. Your sons and
daughters are numerous on each side of the Atlantic, and I am
certain that your distant children on this western continent most
dearly love and esteem you. It is my happy lot to be numbered with
your sons in the Gospel, who, in my feeble way, am striving to win
my fellow-mortals to the embraces of a loving Saviour

The great work of God is still going on in America; as it slackens
in one place it revives in another, then again re-revives in the same
places. I apprehend that you frequently have accounts from the
different parts of our Union as to how the work goes on. At represent,
in Baltimore and Annapolis, and the adjacent circuits, there is nothing
very extraordinary, yet there is a gaining. In some parts of Maryland
there is great power attending the word, and, generally, from
north to south, from east to west, through the different States, the
work bears a pleasing report. I give you here an extract of a letter
lying before me, from a New Jersey presiding elder:

“We have a considerable work in most of our circuits in this State.
I lately attended quarterly meeting in this circuit (Salem). Such
a time I never saw before. [He was not among the work in Virginia
and Maryland.—C.] Six or seven sermons were preached to
the same congregation, and, I think, not less than a hundred converted.
From thence, about twelve miles, I preached five sermons
where a hundred more were converted. At nine places I preached
upward of twenty sermons, and 'tis thought, three hundred and fifty
were converted. Our meetings frequently held from two o'clock
afternoon till next morning, and twenty, thirty, etc., were converted.”
“This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.” We
have good news from other parts, also. God is doing great things
for America.

Our superintendent, Francis Asbury, is a most worthy man for his
station; his concern is great, and he is very faithful in the discharge
of his duty. If you were to write, and send over in print, an epistle
or circular letter to your sons in Christ, it might be of use. I know
their hearts are warm in love and esteem toward you as their father
in the Gospel. It would yield me great satisfaction to receive a line
from you.

I am, honored friend in Christ, yours, etc., EZEKIEL COOPER.

Here, also, is given a letter of value from one of the
preachers on the Peninsula:

DORSET CIRCUIT, March 23, 1790.MY DEAR BROTHER:

May peace attend you forever! Through
mercy I enjoy a degree of health, and my soul is happy in God. I
received your letter the 21st ultimo. There is a gracious work in
this circuit—sinners coming home to God. Since our quarterly meeting
there appears to be a considerable stir among the people. I see
as gracious times as I have ever seen since I have been in Dorset.
The devil is roaring in a wonderful manner. My God, I trust, will
bruise his head.

I suppose you heard of the work among the rich in this place.
Henry Ennalls and wife and sister have been converted to God since
our quarterly meeting; yea, his house-keeper and all his Negroes down
to those but eight years old. Glory be to God for his goodness to
the children of men! Cambridge appears to be up in arms about it.
We have permission to preach in the Court-house at last. O that the
Lord may make bare his arm! O, brother, let us live near to God, that
we may finish the work he has assigned unto us.

The Lord bless
you! Farewell. Pray for me. EMORY PRYOR.N. B. Our quarterly meeting will be the 22d and 23d of May. I
should be glad if you could come over, if it should be out of my power
to attend yours. E. P.

While these letters show the advancing course of religion
in various parts, and are, for the most part, confirmed
in their statements by subsequent historical records,
they serve to supply, to those desiring it, an accurate
account of the work of God's people. Mr. Henry Ennalls,
on being converted, Bishop Asbury tells us, immediately
manumitted his slaves. The opposition of
the citizens of Cambridge, Md., to the Methodists, on
account of his espousal to their cause, was like to that
experienced in various places; and Mr. Cooper has left
an account of a scene within the bounds of his charge
which will further illustrate it. Says he:

Tuesday, August 10. I breakfasted with Mrs. Johnson, who told
me her experience; how that she had formerly laughed, much at the
Methodists and their conversion. One day being persuaded to come
and hear, she unexpectedly was so cut to the heart that she could
not refrain from crying through the street as she returned, though
she kept it concealed as much as possible. From that time she could
get no rest day or night. She visited Mrs. Rollings, a gay lady of
her acquaintance, who, she thought, might cheer her up, and remove,
by her flow of conversation, this distress. But, as God would have it,
she could get no relief—had no heart to be trifling. At length they
fell into conversation about religion. Mrs. Johnson said to Mrs. Rollings,
“Why can't you and I be good?”’

Mrs. Rollings replied, “O we are as good as we can be.”

“That will not do,” said Mrs. Johnson; “we must be better,” and
was struck with such a power that she fell on the floor in deep distress
and prayers for mercy. Mr. Johnson was sent for, who was
for having the doctor; but Mrs. Johnson said the doctor could do her
no good; she wanted the Methodist preacher sent for. He wanted
to send for the Church parson, but she refused to have him. So I
was sent for, at which time the Lord blessed her soul with his love,
to which she has held fast ever since. She went and joined Society
this afternoon.

Again:

Wednesday, 18. I am told that at quarterly meeting, last Saturday
and Sunday, a number of wicked fellows undertook to support one of
their party in whipping a preacher who reproved him; but they came
off very badly. The preacher got two or three strokes, and the man
was caught by a friend. One of his party interfered, and a second
friend to the preacher stepped forward, and with a blow sent him
away staggering, and hurt him amazingly. Others engaged, but the
preacher's friends were too hard for them. One of the young men
who fought for the preacher after the others were beaten off told
them to come again if they chose; that he was not angry, but he
fought for God, and for God he would fight; he would not see his
servants beaten by any man.

“What shall we think of this?” said Mr. Cooper. “Did he do
right or wrong? ‘He was not angry, but fought for God, and would
not see his servants beaten.’ The conduct of fighting most certainly
is not right; but here was an uncommon principle to be found in a
fighter: ‘In good humor for God.’”

While there was opposition to the Methodists manifested
in many places there was also internal strife
within the body, over the Church Council and the Constitution
adopted at its session in 1789. Mr. Cooper
received letters on the subject from his brother ministers,
some of whom sought to gain his influence against
the organization. Being much concerned for the welfare
of the Church, he addressed the following letter to
Bishop Asbury:

DEAR BROTHER:

Many and various have been my exercises since I
had the happiness of seeing you. I have just kept my head above
the waters. Nothing has given me more painful feelings than the
predicament of the Church of God. Satan is a most subtle adversary—how apt he is to transform himself, and apparently to transmute
right into wrong and wrong into right, good into evil and evil
into good; and thus make us fearful of truth and zealously embrace
error, even when we think we are sincere, I am certain, as to my
own part, I know but little and see not far, which makes me doubtful
of myself either in judging or speaking. How do you find the
preachers to the southward upon the Council and its Constitution?
Is all smooth? I wish the enemy may not make and take advantage
of some upon this subject. I confess my mind is uneasy at seeing
any thing so irritating among the brethren as this matter appears to
be. If I know myself I wish whatever is best to be, and feel as if
I want no voice or will in the case more than for unanimity to reign
among us in the will of Heaven.

I find myself an infirm creature, subject to many trials, and see great
danger of yet becoming a castaway. I scarcely have yet learned to
know myself. “Know thyself” is a lesson I wish to learn, but I find
it hard to get; nevertheless I thank God for what I am and what I
know. May he teach me what I know not, and make me what I am
not! I wish to live to some purpose while God gives me an existence
in this scene of trial; but O, my leanness, my leanness! I find myself
an unprofitable servant, and undeserving a name and place among
his saints.

At times I feel willing to be any thing or nothing. I love God,
I love his cause, I love his people; but am jealous of myself,
lest I should err in answering the great end of my vocation and
probation. I am as needy, perhaps, as any under your care and
charge. What shall be done to subdue deistical temptations? then,
Universalism? May God keep me from every principle which he
doth hate! I feel a considerable desire to meet you at Leesburg, but
fear I have no business; I want to do nothing but duty, and in faith.

We have a sifting time in this town. I have turned out about as
many as I have received. The Society is in tolerable order at present.
There is a delightful stir over South and Severn Rivers—south
and north of the city. Some few are coming in town.

The agitation in the Church concerning the Council,
to which Mr. Cooper refers in the above letter, was
growing, and there were fears of unpleasant issues arising
from the discussions had in all parts of the territory.
At the session of the Duck Creek (now Smyrna,
Delaware) Conference, on Friday, the 17th day of September,
it was thought, however, that a more peaceful
conclusion was reached than had been anticipated.
Says Mr. Cooper:

Friday, 17. At nine o'clock we had the Council business brought
before the Conference, which was unfinished when we adjourned.
At three o'clock P. M. it was resumed. A small debate was seriously
entered into. After the matter was investigated properly but few
opposed, and their objections were answered. When the question
was put, to the joy of the Council friends, there were but two who
voted against it. It was expected that there would be dreadful work
among the preachers in opposition; but they came agreeably into the
measure and closed the business very amicably.

Mr. Cooper attended the session of the Council held
in Baltimore in December, 1790, where all things seemed
to go forward in a pleasant manner, and the spirit of
harmony prevailed in all the sessions.

Returning from the Duck Creek Conference to Annapolis,
his charge, he soon began the series of articles
against slavery of which mention has been before made.
While preparing these he wrote a letter to Bishop Asbury,
soliciting counsel as to his course, and received
the following reply:

BOLINGBROKE, November 12, 1790.MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

I am fully agreed that you should
write as you dictate. We have been laboring by heavy strides through
the Peninsula, with some living, others very dead. It seems as
though the work will go on in Accomack in spite of Satan and the
B——pts. We have a little stir in some parts of Somerset. I am fully
convinced of the necessity of a constant spirit of prayer in private, in
families, in societies, and in public. Strive, my dear, to push all you
can to prayer.

I am in hopes that we shall have $200, or near, this trip, for the
college; but I shall want nearly $400. Our house will fill swiftly.
I hope we shall see matters in a more promising state. Many poor
are pressing upon us, and this is my greatest consolation. I have
pleasing prospects of employing a teacher or two, if I am not disappointed.

We have had perfect unanimity in all the Conferences, and great
peace. The work revives in York, and goes on in Jersey. In the
latter State it is thought that not less than six hundred souls have
been converted in six months, and it still goes on.

My soul is in peace, my breast is pained. Long rides, large congregations,
quarterly meetings every day.

Peace be with thy spirit! As ever thine,F. ASBURY.

In December, while visiting that part of his work
which was in the country surrounding Annapolis, Mr.
Cooper received a letter from Bishop Asbury, directing
him to go to Alexandria, Va., to assume the pastorate
of that charge for some months. He did so, but was
engaged for more than a month in attending to the
duties of the pastorate in the charge he was about to
leave. He left Annapolis on Tuesday, the 20th of
January, 1791, and arrived in Alexandria on the 22d.

CHAPTER VII.
METHODISM IN ALEXANDRIA, VA., 1791, 1792.

INASMUCH as our Methodist historians have given no
account of the introduction of Methodism into Alexandria,
it devolves on the writer to furnish, as far as he
can, such data as will correct the omission.

Alexandria was originally the capital of Fairfax County,
Va., and was a part of Fairfax Circuit. In 1783 it
was visited by Mr. Asbury, he preaching to a large
congregation in the Court-house, and being entertained
by a brother Bushby, who, with General Roberdeau and
others, warmly supported the cause of the Methodists
in that community. In 1785, after the organization of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, Bishops Coke and
Asbury met there in May, with a purpose to visit General
Washington at his country-seat, Mount Vernon,
seven miles distant. Says Bishop Coke: *

* Arminian Magazine, vol. i, pp. 395, 396.

Wednesday, May 25. I set off again. We dined at a friend's
house by the way, and reached brother Bushby's, at Alexandria, about
seven in the evening. There I met according to appointment, that
dear, valuable man, Mr. Asbury. He had informed the people that
when I arrived the Court-house bell should ring, and about eight
o'clock I had a very large congregation in the Presbyterian Church,
on whom I insisted on the necessity of the “witness of the Spirit.”

Thursday, 26. Mr. Asbury and I set off for his Excellency, General
Washington's. We were engaged to dine there the day before.
General Roberdeau, an intimate acquaintance of General Washington's,
who served under him in the war, paved our way by a letter of introduction.
We slept at General Roberdeau's the night before, and he
was to have gone with us, but Mrs. Roberdeau was so ill that he did
not choose to leave her. His Excellency received us very politely,
and was very accessible. He is quite the plain country gentleman,
and is a friend of mankind. After dinner we desired a private interview
and opened to him the business on which we came.

We returned that evening to Alexandria, where, at eight o'clock,
after the bell was rung, I had a very considerable congregation.

Bishop Asbury, while silent in regard to the religious
services and entertainment in Alexandria, tells us
that General Washington gave him and Dr. Coke his
opinion against slavery.

In November Bishop Asbury was again in Alexandria,
and thus speaks of his visit:

Being disappointed in crossing the Potomac at Holland's Point, I
shaped my course for Alexandria. I preached on my way on the
Sabbath evening to an attentive congregation, and reached town on
Monday, 14.

VIRGINIA, Tuesday, 15. I dined with Mr. Samuel Smith, and Mr.
McK——, at General Roberdeau's. Our conversation turned upon
slavery, the difficulties attending emancipation, and the resentment
some of the members of the Virginia Legislature expressed against
those who favored a general abolition. I preached in the Court-house.
I took cold by coming out into the open air while in a profuse
perspiration; this I seldom fail to do, if I preach to a large congregation
in a close, warm place.

In April, 1786, Mr. Asbury again visited Alexandria
and spent several days with the Society. They were
days of industrious employment, wherein measures
were taken for a more comfortable provision for the
members of the church, and the permanent securement
of a house of worship. After being thus occupied,
he broke forth:

Sunday, April 23. Hail, glorious Lord! After deep exercises of
body and mind, I feel a solemn sense of God on my heart. I
preached during the day in the Court-house, on 1 Peter iii, 10, and
in the evening at the Presbyterian Church, on Luke xix, 41, 42.
Alexandria must grow, and if religion prospers it will be blessed.
I drew a plan and set on foot a subscription for a meeting house.

From that time forward Alexandria began to show
marks of Methodistic care; was visited by the bishops
of the Church, and in 1791 Was the seat of one of the
Virginia Conferences, made memorable by the certain
announcement of the death of that venerable man of
God, the Rev. John Wesley. Dr. Coke, receiving this
intelligence, proceeded to Baltimore on Sunday, May 1,
and the following day Mr. Asbury held the Conference
in Alexandria. Here he found Mr. Cooper, who had
been pastor of that charge for more than three months.

Alexandria was made a separate charge in 1791,
Ezekiel Cooper being the first preacher stationed there.
He was the pastor for a little more than fourteen
months, when he was called by Mr. Asbury to the
charge of Charleston, S. C., and Hardy Herbert appointed
to succeed him at Alexandria. Mr. Cooper
found between fifty and sixty members of “Society”
in town, and a few more in the country societies connected
with his field of labor.

On the day of his arrival at his new station his attention
was arrested by two events which moved the town
with excitement. The first was that of a trial going on
in the Circuit Court, of which Mr. Cooper thus speaks:

When I reached Alexandria there was a trial in court of a man for
murder, a black man who had killed his overseer in defending himself
from his extravagant cruelty which the overseer had inflicted on
many, and also on this poor creature. The trial lasted till in the
night sometime, and the prisoner was cleared—judged not guilty of
murder. The Court-house was crowded with citizens. When the
judgment was given from the bench a general plaudit by a clapping
of hands passed through the house. I apprehend this will be a
check on the cruelty of tyrannical masters and overseers who can,
by degrees, massacre and murder poor slaves as though they were
beasts of burden. The case was difficult indeed; but surely a black
man should have right to defend his life as well as a white man. If
religion was general, and all in thereby, such things would
be done away; nay, slavery itself would not exist long. Liberty
justly belongs to all, and principles of equity or religion enjoin us to
grant it to every man.

The second event, which occurred the same day,
January 22, 1792, was the announcement of the president's
proclamation in regard to the location of the
Federal City. Says Mr. Cooper: “It filled the town
with great bustle, as the lines of experiment were to
include the town of Alexandria.” Nearly three months
afterward, namely, on Friday, April 15, he says:

To day the corner-stone for the Federal District was planted on
Jones's Point. The bell rang, and the people marched down to the
Point in procession, with the town sergeant before them. They
planted meal under the stone, and broke a bottle of wine and a
bottle of oil on it.

The religious exercises in the new station were as
follows: Preaching on Sabbath, morning and night,
also on Wednesday night; prayer-meeting on Friday
night; class-meetings on Monday and Thursday nights,
and a class-meeting of females, about thirty in number,
on Tuesday afternoon at four o'clock. The church building,
begun five years previously by Bishop Asbury, was
so far completed as to permit its use for these services;
however, some of the meetings were held in private
houses, as for instance, one of the Thursday night
classes was held at the residence of a Sister Shores.

Mr. Cooper's “place of board and lodging” was with
William Hickman, whom he describes as “a good
man,” and his wife as “an amiable little woman.”
Besides these among other members of the church were
the Ramsey, West, Minor, Simmons, Hickman, and
Hunter families in town; and in the country, John
Moss, Esquire Simpson, William and Samuel Adams,
Gunnell, Mrs. Dulin, and Bates, all of whom were
deeply in earnest in maintaining the cause of Methodism
in their several communities. The country
appointments of the circuit were at John Moss's,
Simpson's, William Adams's, Fairfax Chapel, Gunnell's,
Dulin's, Summers's, and Bates's.

A happy spirit of Christian union and brotherly regard
was manifested by the ministers and members of
other churches toward the Methodists and their pastor.
Mention is here made of the Rev. Mr. Muir, of the
Episcopal Church, who set a noble example before all.
He invited the recently appointed Methodist pastor,
within a week after his arrival at Alexandria, to supper
with him; and finding that he would probably be kept
way by reason of the arrival of a brother minister who
was his guest, invited him also. Mr. Cooper was urged
to accept the invitation, which he did, taking with him
his brother, the Rev. Mr. Breeze, and Mr. Hickman, his
host. The evening was passed in comfort and ease at
Mr. Muir's. The Rev. Mr. Muir continued to show this
brotherly spirit, as will be seen as we proceed further
in this history.

On Thursday, February 10, en route for Montgomery
quarterly meeting, Mr. Cooper preached to a crowded
audience at Mr. Adams's, and the next day, having
dined at Mr. Waters's, a local preacher, he, with Mr.
Waters, proceeded on his journey and arrived at Mr.
Awfort's, where in the evening Mr. Waters preached
and he exhorted. On Saturday, having a large congregation
at Mr. Nichols's, the seat of the quarterly
meeting, Mr. Cooper opened the quarterly meeting by
preaching, after which the Rev. Mr. Reed, the presiding
elder, exhorted, and then administered the sacrament
of the Lord's supper.

Many descriptions of these grand quarterly meeting
services have been given, but there are points in the
history of the one now before us that make it advisable
to give the account as it has come down to us.
Says Mr. Cooper:

Sunday, 13. The love-feast began at nine o'clock; we had a good
time. But several were tried by the application of different people,
not members, to come in. Some got in; others did not. Some
wicked young men attempted to break in violently; one got in, but
was put out through the same hole at the end of the barn where he
bored his passage through. He was very angry, but we cared very
little for that. I was very happy in love-feast. I thought seriously
on the increase of Methodism for several years past, and was thinking
of opening my thoughts when Brother Waters arose, and seemed to
have the very same ideas that I had on the subject.

The congregation was so large we divided it for preaching. The
barn and private house both would not hold near all, I don't know
whether much more than half, of the people. Brother Reed and myself
preached in the barn; Brother Waters and Brother Chiles held
forth at the dwelling-house. It rained while we preached, and
hundreds of the people stood it out with great attention.

Having accomplished his mission in connection with
the Montgomery quarterly meeting, Mr. Cooper returned
to Alexandria, visiting, on the route, Judge
Smith, who, with his wife and daughter, were members
of the Church; Mr. Warfield, where, on Monday, at noon,
he preached to a crowded congregation; Mr. Lacklin,
where a watch-night service was held; Colonel Ormes,
who, though a Presbyterian, received him and his
traveling companion, Mr. Waters, as cordially as if
they were ministers of his own denomination, and,
after family prayer was had, took each of his visitors
separately by the hand and said, “I gratefully thank
you” (they each had led in the prayer service); and
Mr. Waters, where he spent the night, and on the
next day arrived at Alexandria.

It was not long after his return to his station before
Mr. Cooper was called upon to preach a funeral sermon
over the remains of Mrs. Harris, the mother of
Mrs. Hickman, with whom he boarded. She was not
a member of his charge, but was associated with the
church on Calvert Circuit, in Maryland. Such, however,
were the circumstances connected with her burial
that he assumed the duty, and afterward addressed
the following letter to Bishop Asbury, describing her
character and the scenes attendant upon the funeral:

CALVERT COUNTY, March 9, 1791.MY ESTEEMED BROTHER:

Being called down here, forty miles from
Alexandria and about the same distance from Annapolis, to preach
at the funeral of Sister Harris, one of our respectable friends, I feel
impressed to give you some account of the circumstances of her death
and burial.

She had been a member of our Church better than two years, and,
as far as I can learn, invariably an ornament to her profession. Her
clemency was experienced by the poor, and her fellowship esteemed
by her Christian friends. She had but a short spell of illness in her
death sickness, during which time she manifested the greatest resignation
imaginable. And when taking her final adieu of her weeping,
overwhelmed friends, she left them all triumphantly, and commended
them to God in prayers and admonitions. The following
account of her last hours I received from Brother B., the circuit
preacher, who was then with her, and tells me it exceeded any thing
he ever saw. Probably the relation is not and cannot be so striking
as the sight:

“When I went to see Sister Harris, she was very ill, but could praise
God with great happiness and resignation. We sang, and went to
prayer. In singing, her voice was strong and clear, which was
rather unexpected in her weak state. In the morning Brother Harris
came out of the room with the aspect of gladness, and said she was
better. We sat and talked about ten minutes, and he was called
into the room again. When he entered, he found her
dying. I also went in, and, at first, thought she never would speak
more. Her friends surrounded the bed with bitter lamentations, and
immoderate sorrow. I strove to pacify them, and told them to give
her up to the Lord. Presently she opened her eyes and spoke as
though one had spoken from the dead. ‘Glory be to God,’ she said,
‘we can bear all things for Christ's sake;’ then exhorted all present
to love and obey God. She then lay as one dying, without speaking,
for some time. She again revived and called her son G., and exhorted
him to give up his heart to God; told him how that many
tears she had shed in private prayer for him. It was a melting scene
while she powerfully pressed him to turn to the Lord and save his
soul, ‘My soul is so happy that I can feel no pain,’ said she.
‘Glory be to God! I am resigned to his will. O the love that I feel!
I am perfectly happy!’ She lay still, again, for a time, then renewed
her exhortation, till all in the room were melted to tears. When
we went to prayer, she frequently cried ‘Amen,’ distinctly and loudly.
Afterward she said,‘O sweet Jesus! Happy, happy! glory, glory
be to God!’ Then in about eight minutes her breath left her body,
as one falling asleep without a struggle.”

Her son G. has set off to serve the Lord, and appears to be much
engaged. I feel strong impressions that her death will be a means
of good to several. We had about a thousand people at the funeral;
some suppose more, but I think not. We had a solemn time. I
thought some of her connections were rather immoderate in their
sorrow. I like for people to have sympathy, but it is not good to
give too much way to our passions. May the Lord deepen the convictions
and good purposes of those who resolve upon religion!

After the funeral we had a watch-night in Brother Chiles's preaching-house
last night. The Lord was with us. We had a comfortable
season.

I am, esteemed brother, yours, etc.,E. C.

No mention having been made by our historians of
the Rev. Mr. Chiles, the following account is given, as
possessing historic value. Says Mr. Cooper:

At night we held a watch-night in Chiles's preaching-house. We
had four or five hundred hearers, and a tender time. Brother Chiles
was led out in exhortation very much. Brother Burgeon, also, and
another preacher gave an exhortation. I lodged at Brother Chiles's.
He is one of our preachers; formerly traveled, but now stays at home
to manage his plantation. His two aunts, sister, and brother live
with him; they appear to be a family of happiness. I was very comfortable
there.

Returning to Alexandria, he resumed the work of his
pastorate, strongly upheld and assisted by those who
were in “Society,” and by some who were not members,
among whom was General Roberdeau, who was helpful
in financial matters, and whose house was a home for
the itinerant. While discharging the duties before
him, both in town and in his country appointments,
he received, in April, the following letter from Bishop
Asbury:

PETERSBURG, VA., April 19, 1791.MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

I am comforted to hear that the work
goes on in Annapolis in your absence; that you revive a little in
Alexandria, and your house is in better order. I heard by a young
man that you were doing well. Brother Ward has lost his reason.
Great exertions may wreck the system. If possible we shall be in
town for evening meeting on the Sabbath. We must enter fully into
business on Monday morning.

You, perhaps, have heard of the General Conference which is to
meet instead of the next sitting of the Council. A letter from Mr.
Wesley, the re-appointment of Brother Whatcoat, the strange spirit
of murmur here, and what can be done to amend or substitute a
Council, and perhaps to implead me on the one part, and a presiding
elder and conference on the other. No court is sufficient but a General
Conference; and perhaps such a trial may make me and others
take care how we take such rash, if not unwarrantable, steps.

You are a thinking, prudent man; a word to the wise—let it rest in thy heart.

I am, as ever, yours,F. ASBURY.

Mr. Cooper had knowledge of the call of a General
Conference in 1792, to be held instead of the Council and
to supersede it, before he received the above letter; and
he was so much affected by the disagreement existing
within certain circles of the Church that he apprehended
evil influences would arise from such a conference at
that time. In speaking of it, he says, in his diary:

April 9. I fear some unfortunate end will come upon us before we
get duly settled one way or the other. I am almost of a mind to say
or do nothing, but submit the whole affair to Providence, and our
brethren, who are so zealous about the matter, though I almost fear
that some of them know not what they are about. Lord, direct us;
superintend us in all things!

Being informed of the coming of the Bishop to hold
the Conference the following month, Mr. Cooper began
to prepare the church for that session, and assisted
in planing the seats, which heretofore had been used in
their rough and undressed state. The state of the church
may be seen from the following entry in his diary:

Friday, April 29. This afternoon the preachers began to come in
town for Conference, which begins on Monday next, God willing.
We have got the seats, pulpit, and chandelier prepared. The windows will not be quite finished in their casings.

The Conference session was harmonious, and helpful
to the cause of the Redeemer. It began on Monday,
May 2. Besides the regular Conference business there
was preaching three times a day; namely, at sunrise, at
noon, and at night. At its close Bishop Asbury, with
Mr. Cooper, went forward to the Baltimore and Duck
Creek Conferences. “The former,” says Mr. Cooper,
was all love and union.” On Sunday night Bishop
Asbury met the Society at large, “in order to speak his
mind upon some concerns relative to the Connection.”
On Monday morning all the preachers were invited to
breakfast at Mr. Philip Rogers's. About thirty of them
were thus gathered together in one room, around one
table. Great love and brotherly kindness was manifested.
From thence they retired into a room where
the Conference business was finished.

The Duck Creek Conference began on Friday, May
13, and was in session for three days. It was a season
of great power, and productive of much good, both
to ministers and laymen. The governor of the State
(Delaware), who had opened his house on the circuit as
a place for preaching, was present during the Conference
session, and partook of the spirit of love and faith that
animated his brethren; while the ministry of the word
life, the love-feasts, and the various Conference sessions,
all conspired to call forth the utterance of the
psalmist, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for
brethren to dwell together in unity!”

Mr. Cooper, having been continued in charge of the
work in Alexandria (Virginia), after visiting his friends
on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, returned to his station
on Saturday, the 4th of January, 1791. On the
first Sabbath of the new Conference year the Rev. W.
Glendenning preached for him in the morning, and told
the audience the story of his exercises while he “lay
for five years under a state of melancholy and black
despair.” The people were much affected, Mr. Cooper
himself saying, “I have not heard a narration more
affecting for a long time.”

The disorderly walk of some of his members made it
necessary for him to divide the classes, both of men and
women, and to adopt such other measures as might
produce a higher development of a religious life, himself
resolving to give more diligence to enter the kingdom
and to enforce upon the people the realities of
religion. The first quarterly meeting was held on Sunday
and Monday, June 12 and 13. The Rev. Mr. Bruce,
the presiding elder, preached both days with great satisfaction.
The latter part of the week was given by
Mr. Cooper to his work in the country, he preaching at
Esquire Moss's, at Gunnell's, at the Falls preaching-house,
and at Adams's.

The country around him at this time was suffering
from continued drouth; the citizens apprehended a
famine. Says Mr. Cooper:

Sunday, July 17. I arose a little after four o'clock, and attended
meeting at five. This is a pretty morning; every thing looks delightful.
The rain which fell yesterday evening makes every thing
bear a lively aspect. We have not had so refreshing rain all summer.
Such a drought has never been known in this country before
by any I have conversed with. How thankful should they now be!
But it is feared that the corn is so far gone that there will be scarcely
any crops made.

While it pleased the Master to water the parched
earth with refreshing showers, he was pleased, too, to
pour out his Spirit upon the people in Alexandria, as
the following, from Mr. Coopers diary, will show.

Sunday, June 26. We had prayer-meeting at five o'clock A. M.
At nine I met a class, at ten preached, and afterward met the Society
at large. We had a precious time. At four o'clock I preached
again, and found great liberty; the people were very attentive. Four
joined Society to-day—Mrs. Brook and three others. I found this to
be the best Sabbath that I have had for some time.

Monday, 27. My mind was happy in God. In the evening we
held prayer-meeting at Brother Sanford's. A number were together;
in the close we had a lively time.

Tuesday, 28. My mind was in a disposition for silence. I passed
through town to see several friends, in whose families I sung and
prayed. At five o'clock P. M. I met class at Brother Simmons's,
and a most glorious time it was; the best class-meeting I have
yet seen in Alexandria; every heart seemed to be overflowing with
love.

At a prayer-meeting, held during the following week
at the residence of Mr. Emmit, a man was so wrought
upon by the Spirit that he declared his purpose of seeking
the salvation of his soul, adding that he had been a
dreadful sinner—a drunken, swearing, miserable offender,
but from henceforward was resolved to reform.

Amid these manifestations of increasing spiritual
fervor among the Methodists in Alexandria, their pastor
was sought for by other charges and denominations.
Among these was the congregation worshiping at Poheck
church, until late under the ecclesiastical governance
of the Church of England. Mr. Cooper arranged
to minister to them on the 10th of July, having engaged
The Rev. J. Ogburn to fill his appointment in Alexandria.
On Saturday, the 9th, Mr. Dade, who resided a
mile out from town, took him in his carriage and they
went forward, dining at Mr. Bushby's, and spending
the night at Esquire Moss's. The following is from his
diary:

Sunday, 10. By eight o'clock we had a company of ten or twelve
to start with us to Poheck Church, where I was to preach. We
had about ten miles to ride; reached there a little after ten o'clock;
began service about eleven. Brother Potts read prayers, and I
preached. We had a very large congregation. Mr. Triplett said:
“The church never had so many people in it before.” I had great
liberty in speaking; many were touched to the heart and wept.
This is a well finished, pretty church. It is a pity that such a building
should be idle for want of preaching. I hope that they will be
supplied for the future by one of our preachers. I dined to-day with
Mr. Triplett. He and his family were very kind indeed. Himself
and one son appear to have their hearts touched. O Lord, hear my
prayer; may they have their concern fastened on their minds, and
may a work of religion take place at Poheck!

While the revival spirit was operating on the Church
in Alexandria, two circumstances occurred that had the
tendency to disturb her harmony and, for awhile, at
least, to scatter her members. The first: the Baptist
who were striving to establish themselves in that community
sought to accomplish their purposes in part
by traducing the Methodists. This course was so offensively
pursued by them that at last Mr. Cooper
was led to challenge them to a public discussion of the
principles involved in the controversy. Speaking of it,
he says:

Saturday, October 1. This evening, in company, we fell into a conversation
about the challenge I gave the Baptists to have a public
dispute. They have boasted and preached against us so long that I
feel quite ready and willing to meet them before hundreds or thousands,
and there defend our principles against the ablest preacher
they have in the State. I hope, now, they will either let us alone or
meet agreeable to the proposal. I am for, and would rather have,
peace; but they appear to be for war, so I wish them, if they will
have war, to come to an open-field battle like honest men. How lamentable
it is that different denominations cannot go on in their own
liberty, and let others alone. They seem backward in taking us up.

Though the challenge was not accepted by the Baptists,
it had the effect of causing them to cease their
abusive course toward the Methodists; and some who
had been disturbed by their tenets regained their soul-rest
and composure.

A second source of disquiet was occasioned by the
appearance and spread of the small-pox. It spread during
the month of July with such rapidity that the citizens
became alarmed; several families moved out of
town, and the congregations were much reduced. Mr.
Cooper himself, while the disease was most severe,
spent the most part of the week in the country, and
was only in town on Saturday and Sunday. During the
first week he visited and held service at Bushby's,
Esquire Moss's, Dulins's, Broadwater's, Hunter's, and
Gunnell's. Returning to town on Saturday, the 23d, he
preached the following day twice, and spent the week
in visiting the sick, meeting the classes, and attending
other religious meetings.

On Monday, August 1, the Rev. Mr. Bruce, the presiding
elder, visited Alexandria, and stayed until Thursday,
holding in the meantime, with Mr. Cooper, a watch-night
service, and visiting the prayer-meeting, at both
of which services was manifested the presence of the
Most High.

Accompanying the presiding elder Mr. Cooper made
quite an extensive tour through the district, attending
several quarterly meetings, and partaking, with his
brethren, of their varied services. The first attended
was the Prince William quarterly meeting, where, on
Saturday, both preached, as also on the following day.
At the service on Sunday morning Mr. Cooper, having
an audience of near three thousand people, preached,
declaring the “tenets, doctrines, and practices of the
Methodists, and their agreement with Scripture.” He
was immediately followed by the presiding elder, Mr.
Bruce, who gave a “short and pointed discourse on
the subject of predestination.” Rev. Mr. Ellis closed
the meeting with an exhortation. Returning to Alexandria,
he had the Rev. Mr. Weems, of the Episcopal
Church, to preach for him in the Methodist Episcopal
Church on Tuesday night, to a large congregation;
preached himself the following evening, and on Thursday,
“set off for Maryland on a tour of several weeks.”

On Friday service was held at Thomas Offertt's,
during which, while Mr. Cooper was speaking, Mr. Offert's
daughter, who lay on a bed of affliction, was
“so filled with joy in her soul,” says Mr. Cooper, “that
she broke out into praises, and, after I was done, she
lay and exhorted the people very much to give up
their hearts to God. The people were much wrought
upon; almost every heart seemed tender; many tears
were shed.” From thence he went to Mr. Nichols's,
where he lectured, and afterward spent the night. The
next day, Saturday, August 13, being accompanied by
more than twenty persons, he set off for the quarterly
meeting at Joseph Pigman's. Of it he says:

At twelve o'clock we began public service. The congregation was
very large—about two thousand—the greatest number, I think, that
ever I saw at a quarterly meeting on Saturday. We went into the
woods under an excellent shade. I preached from Matt. xxiv, 14;
Brother Pigman and Brother Brnce exhorted. It was a time of great
tenderness among the people. After preaching we gave the sacrament
in the preaching-house

Sunday, 14. At eight o'clock A. M. love-feast began; the preaching-house,
though pretty roomy, would not hold nearly all the friends.
The Lord was very precious to us. At eleven o'clock it was laid upon
me to preach again. I opened our Lord's words in John (ix. 4),
to an uncommonly large concourse of people—some think six or
seven thousand; I judge, at a moderate calculation, there were four
or five thousand—I had to speak very loud. The Lord helped me;
word fell with power on the congregation; truly it was an awful
time! The word was like a sword in the hearts of some who cried
out aloud to God; tears flowed on every hand; the countenances of
the people bespoke the effect of the truth in their souls. Brothers
Forest and Reed exhorted. There were three or four other traveling
preachers who had not time to say any thing. This was a grand
quarterly meeting. I hope great good was done. It was wonderful
where the people could all come from; but such a concourse was
hardly ever seen in those parts before.

Having closed the quarterly meeting services, Mr.
Cooper, with other of his ministerial brethren, visited
Captain Beall's family; old brother Holland, “an
old, well-settled, good Methodist;” Thomas Howard;
Mrs. Howard, widow of Dr. Howard, on Elk Ridge;
and Mrs. Dorsey, widow of Colonel Dorsey; arriving in
Baltimore, August 17, where he remained two days, and
thence went forward to Annapolis, en route for the
South River quarterly meeting. This meeting was
held at Maccubbin's. The presiding elder, Mr. Reed,
preaching on Saturday and Mr. Cooper on Sunday
morning. After closing his discourse it was laid on
him to beg money for the building of a “preaching-house,”
in that neighborhood. Mr. Maccubbin had been
a very wicked man, but was now “a plain simple man,
and very good.”

A few days were now spent by Mr. Cooper among
his friends in Annapolis, from whence, on Friday, the
26th, he “set off at nine o'clock for Calvert quarterly
meeting,” which was held at Chiles's church. Mr.
Cooper “opened the quarterly meeting” on Saturday
morning by preaching, then Mr. Reed exhorted, and
the sacrament was administered. On Sunday, love-feast
began at eight o'clock. The concourse was so
large that the members were divided, the black people
being sent to the barn, under the conduct of two of
the preachers, and the whites convening in the church.
At public preaching, however, they were all gathered
together under the trees, there being about two thousand
persons present. Mr. Cooper preached to them,
having for his pulpit a hogshead with a board laid
across the top. He says:

In the midst of my discourse, one of the devil's children disturbed
the whole assembly, demanding of the Methodists a sum of
money, which, some years ago, he had subscribed and paid to the
preaching-house, but, taking offense, he demanded it to be repaid to
him. I desired that he might be silent, but he declared that he would
not unless the money was paid to him. The disturbance continued
some time, and then some person gave him $2 and he went off. I
then proceeded in my discourse; we had a blessed time in the end.

After the close of this quarterly meeting Mr. Cooper
returned to Annapolis, where he spent a few days, and
then went to Alexandria, whither he arrived on the second
day of September. The small-pox having abated,
the congregations began to increase, and the religious
services were much revived. Two weeks were now
spent in the town, after which on Saturday, September
17, he attended the quarterly meeting held at the
Fairfax Chapel. On Sunday morning, at nine o'clock,
they had love-feast and the sacrament. While speaking
to one another concerning their religious experience the
following scene occurred: A Brother M., from Maryland,
narrated his exercise of mind about slavery, which
resulted in setting his slaves free. Mr. Cooper says:

As soon as he had spoken I rose and applied the subject; then
Brother Watters, and then others, spoke on the same topic, which
took up some time, and, I do believe, very profitably. Surely the
captives will yet be set at liberty.

At twelve o'clock preaching began, the elder, Mr.
Bruce, leading the way, and being followed by Mr.
Cooper, both of whom preached. It was a profitable season.
Returning after dinner to Alexandria, Mr. Cooper
preached at night, spent several days in pastoral work,
and then went up into the country, visited Captain
Terrett, Captain Moss, at whose house he preached, and
Major Powell; he preached on Sunday, the 25th, at Fairfax
Chapel, visited old Brother Adams, leading the class
there, and returned to town on Wednesday, the 28th, in
time to preach in the evening. Among other pastoral
cares which now devolved upon him was the work of
repairing the church, by putting galleries therein.
This work was begun on the 13th of October and
completed within two weeks. Mr. Cooper now, for the
most part, continued his ministerial work in town,
with an occasional visit to the country appointments
up to December 2, when he again was called forth on
the district to attend the quarterly meetings.

In August the following letter was addressed to Rev.
Dr. Coke:

ALEXANDRIA, August 11, 1791.MY ESTEEMED BROTHER:

From impressions of friendship, I take
my pen to address to you a few lines. I have been, and remain,
anxious to hear the result of the British Conference respecting their
resolutions, government, etc. I have apprehended some circumstantial
changes would take place, now our dear old father, John Wesley,
is laid asleep.

I have forebodings in my mind relative to our General Conference,
and could wish it was at hand, or over, for the minds of many are in
agitation. What may be the end God only knows, but I fear that other
principles are at work beside those singly to God's glory. Permit a
friend to drop a caution to you, namely, when you visit this Continent
again come with great care, with precaution, for you are suspected
by some of your sincere friends to have conducted yourself, when last
here, with a degree of unkindness to this Connection, and especially
to our ever worthy Brother Asbury. It appears to them as though
there were designs against Brother A., and, you must know, nothing
will touch the majority of our preachers sooner and more powerfully
than to seek the unjust injury of him who has served them so
long and so faithfully. I am unwilling to say too much upon this
critical subject, but, feeling sensibly for the cause, I drop a few hints.
I fear our brother in the lower part of Virginia is too much prejudiced
against Mr. A., and I candidly believe his ambition carries
him to measures unbecoming a servant of Jesus, in filling other
minds with his own prejudices to strengthen his party, and obtain a
conquest for a conquest. Should you favor his scheme, it may be very
unthankfully received by you that I thus speak; but let others mistrust
as they may, I am unwilling to suppose you would unite with a
party spirit which, if persisted in, will certainly make havoc, division,
etc. The majority in any community should be submitted to by
the minority as the voice of that community. But what shall we think
when a few resolve and determine to stand it out against whatever
number oppose their opinion, and never to submit? Is this not
something like a conceit of infallibility, and does it not bespeak despotism
in principle? and to what length would such a principle carry
a man or men had they but the power? O Lord, give us humility!

Be assured there are strange spirits at work. I wish to be for no
party but the blessed cause of Jesus, and to unite with that which
appears just, wise, and scriptural.

We have nothing extraordinary here at present; in the work some
few are coming in. I remain poorly in body and happy in soul.

Believe me, you share in my love. Pray for me.

I am, yours, etc., EZ. COOPER.

To this brotherly epistle Dr. Coke made the following
reply, which, as a part of the history of the age in
which he lived, will be now cherished for the points
contained therein:

NEW CHAPEL, CITY ROAD, LONDON,November22, 1791.MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

I would have written to you sooner, but
a variety of circumstances have prevented. Soon after the English
Conference I found it in my heart to visit France; and the Lord went
with me. We have already formed a few societies in Normandy.
I left two elders behind me; and I believe we shall soon send a third
preacher. I spent some time in Paris, and the Lord was with me there. I have received many encouraging letters from that city since
I left it; but we have no established work there at present.

I had some design of going over to you for good and all, as the
common proverb is; but I now feel such a desire of being the happy
instrument of spreading the Gospel in France that I believe I shall
never give up my labors there entirely to others.

I hope to see you at the General Conference. However, remember,
I come as a man of peace. O, my dear brother, I only desire to
live to be in some degree an instrument of uniting God to man, and
man to man. The salvation of souls and the union of believers shall
be, I am determined, my only points to aim at and pursue from this
time forward. The time for every thing else is past. The Lord
enable me to devote the remainder of my life's short day to his
glory.

We are going to send missionaries to Sierra Leone, in Africa, where
the English are establishing a very capital settlement. The company
has chosen two chaplains; one of them is a zealous Methodist
preacher of my recommendation. Four of our young exhorters are
also going over.

Brother Black, of Nova Scotia, writes me word that he has been
lately at Newfoundland, and gives me account of a work there
under his ministry something like the great outpourings of the Spirit
in the States. O Jesus, ride on!

Remember me in your prayers, and write to me if you have an opportunity.
Give my love to the preacher with whom you labor.
May the God of love and peace be with you!

I am, your very affectionate brother,THOMAS COKE.

I am confined, and have been for a month past, by a terribly scalded
leg; but, I bless God, I am getting better. The Lord be with your
spirit!

My love to my kind friends, Brother and Sister Rogers. Will you
be so kind as to send me the Minutes of the last Conferences in the
States, by a merchant ship.

On Thursday, November 10, Mr. Cooper visited
Oxon Hill, of which he thus speaks:

I went over the Potomac and preached on Oxon Hill, in a small
preaching-house, which has been built by a number of religious black
people. I had considerable satisfaction among them. I preached at
twelve o'clock, and again at night. The dear black people seem to be
alive to God, having their hearts placed on things above. I lodged
at Mr. Bean's. None of the family, except black people, are in the
way of religion, but they are a friendly, kind people. I had much
satisfaction with them.

The line of quarterly meetings in Maryland having
been arranged for the winter, Mr. Cooper, with other
preachers, went forth to attend them. The first was in
the lower part of Anne Arundel County, and was considered
to be very profitable to those who attended it.
It was conducted by Mr. Cooper, with the aid of ministers
Ellis and Pigman. From thence, after spending two
or three days with his friends in Annapolis, Mr. Cooper
went forward to Baltimore, where, on Saturday, December
3, was begun the quarterly meeting for that
city. Speaking of it he says:

At night, December 3, quarterly meeting began: Brother Morrell
(who is in company with Mr. Asbury) preached to a considerable
congregation.

Sunday, 4. Quarterly meeting continued. Mr. Asbury preached
at eleven o'clock; I at three o'clock; and Brother A. again at night,
when he preached the funeral of old Mrs. Triplett. She was the first
who received our preachers in this town.

When these meetings had concluded he again returned
to Alexandria, where he remained, in the discharge
of his ministerial duties, until the 13th day of
January, 1792, when, having secured the services of
the Rev. Mr. Cook for his work in town, he made a
tour in the country, being absent for six days. Thence
returning, on Sunday, January 22, he performed a work
that seems strange to the Methodists of the present
day. Says he:

To-day I turned Sister S. B., that was, out of Society for marrying
an unawakened man. It went right hard with some of her
friends, but I must enforce the rules.

Continuing in town till February 5, he then responded
to the call to make other quarterly meeting visitations,
and, being uncertain as to the time of his return, excited
no little anxiety among the members lest that he should
not be with them more. He, on this tour, opened, on
Wednesday, February 8, at Captain Burgess's, in Prince
George's County, Md., a place for preaching, his being
the first sermon preached in that neighborhood by the
Methodists. Thence he went to Captain Beall's, where,
on Saturday, the 11th, quarterly meeting began and was
continued on Sunday; himself and the Rev. Nelson Reed
led in the ministerial services. The next quarterly meeting
was held at Magoty, where, on Sunday, great visitations
of grace fell upon the audience. Describing it
he says:

Saturday, February 18, 1792. We went on to quarterly meeting.
The house was crowded. We had a tolerable time.

Sunday, 19. In love-feast the Lord was precious, but in the time
of preaching he opened the windows of heaven and poured down
blessings upon us. Sinners were struck as with hammer and fire,
or like as if thunder flashes had smitten them. A general cry
began, so that I was forced to stop preaching. I stood upon the
stand and looked on, and saw them in every part of the congregation
with streaming eyes, and groaning for mercy, while others were
shouting praises to God for delivering grace. Numbers were converted—the season was truly glorious and very refreshing to God's
dear people. The meeting never broke up till about sundown.

On Thursday, March 1, Mr. Cooper returned to Alexandria,
where, as will be seen below, he was to spend
nearly a month, and then to repair to another and distant
field of labor. While encouraged in his pastoral
work, he received, on the ninth of the month, two
letters from Charleston, S. C. He says:

One from the Bishop, the other from Brother Morrell, informing me
of William Hammett's defection, of his separation from us, and that
he has divided our Society there—a part having forsaken us and gone
to him. The Bishop and Brother M., write in the strongest and most
pointed terms for me to hasten immediately to that city, and take a
station there the ensuing year. I feel it a cross to go so long a journey,
well on to seven hundred miles; but as the occasion is so urgent,
and brother Asbury solicits me so powerfully, I consent to go off in a
few weeks, God willing. But I have a horse, bridle, and saddle, together
with other things, to buy for my journey.

Of these letters, that of Rev. Thomas Morrell, who
was Bishop Asbury's traveling companion at that time,
is herewith given:

MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

After a fatiguing, dangerous, and
difficult journey we arrived here on the 12th instant, without the loss
of life or limb, or senses, though each of them were exposed; but
God preserved us. The Conferences in Virginia and North Carolina
were all peace, love, and harmony; we found sweet, soul-refreshing
seasons at each; and the preachers went to their circuits in confidence
that the Lord would bless their labors. From their tempers, piety, and
prudence I believe their hopes will not be frustrated. When we were
about seventy miles from this place, we first heard of the defection
of William Hammett, with alarming reports of his having seduced
the greatest part of the Society to join him, and separate from us.
We found, on our arrival, that his not being appointed to be general
assistant of the West Indies by the British Conference; and that,
perhaps being fearful of being brought to answer for some malicious
and ill-natured reflections, not founded in truth, which he had spoken
against Mr. Asbury and the preachers in general, inducing him to
carve for himself, he accordingly, after some bitter and unjust reflections,
separated from us and persuaded about twenty-four whites
and thirty-five blacks to join him. He has hired and fitted up a place
for preaching, and holds worship at the same hours that we do.
This hurt Mr. Asbury sensibly, that any thing like a division should
take place, and he gave, last evening, a full account of his conduct
toward Mr. Hammett in the presence of the Society, to their full
satisfaction. When at the North Carolina Conference he appointed
Jesse Richardson to this place, but when he came here, soon discovered
that his want of knowledge of men and things (though an excellent
man in many respects) rendered him unfit to fill this station, more
especially at this juncture. At the request of the bishop, Conference,
and Society, I consented to tarry here for two or three months, though
I can only preach at most twice a week.

Mr. Asbury ruminated long in his mind to find a preacher suitable
to the place and the present circumstances. At first thought yourself
was impressed upon my mind as the very man; but, not being
willing to appear to dictate, I forbore to mention you. After some
time spent in meditation Mr. Asbury broke out, “I have found one
that will answer in every respect,” and immediately named you. I
rejoiced to hear it, and am sure you are the man, through grace,
exactly qualified for this place. He proposed your coming when I
went away, as Richardson was on his way here, but—one preacher
declining at Conference—Brother Richardson has orders sent him to
repair to the vacant circuit, and this place is unsupplied only by poor
unworthy me, who am so unwell that I cannot preach, as I said,
more than twice a week at most. There is here a local preacher who
tries to fill up; but you know what local preachers generally are, and
how they are received. The time is critical; therefore Mr. Asbury
repeatedly desired me not to fail in writing to you by the first post,
in the strongest and most pointed manner, to come immediately, and
consider Charleston as your station for the ensuing year. The last
words were, “Hasten Brother Cooper; write post after post to him;
beg him to come immediately.”

My dear brother, a man of your understanding and zeal needs no
motives to urge him to a compliance with a necessity so pressing. I
am persuaded, therefore, that no delays will be on your part but such
as are purely adventitious. Were the case not so urgent I would not
be so pressing; but the cause of God, and the honor and prosperity
of our cause so closely united with it, plead powerfully for your
presence here. It has been mentioned to the Society, and they are
extremely elated with it; do come shortly

Some of Hammett's party have showed a disposition to return.
Those that are worth having we shall, probably, regain; some of them
will not be received if they offer. Excepting three persons, he has
only the chaff of the Society—for but those three among his adherents
profess either to be awakened or converted—such is the curse attending
the taking of unawakened persons into Society; they have always
kept the Society here in disputes. Our party, far the most numerous,
are, generally, really religious characters. To ingratiate himself he
allows his members all the latitude of dress; and his communicants,
some of them, are open swearers and common notorious drunkards.
He is for money, show, and a worldly church. I believe he is fallen
from God, if ever he had religion.

Our Society is more united than ever, and last night we received two
members. I expect, through a blessing, we shall shake the devil's
kingdom in this fashionable and luxurious city. I promised to tarry
till the middle of May; but, if it appear necessary to us both, I will
stay with you till the 1st or 10th of June, God willing. The people
here are very kind; some of our Society are respectable merchants.
Here is every thing that you want, and a field for exercising your
talents to advantage. Once more, my dear, I urge you, entreat you,
and beg you to come as soon as possible. What clothes you cannot
bring with you you may send by water. To the care of Edgar Wells,
merchant, No. 10 Broad Street, or John McDowell, merchant, No. 104
same street. Could we have preaching once or twice more a week I
apprehend we should settle Hammett's business. My threat is very
sore. I could not preach at all for five days past, and I am fearful
not once this week to come. Do come! I am all anxiety till I hear
from you. Write by the post when we may expect you. God give
you a prosperous journey to us!

Adieu, my dear brother. Come in faith, in prayer.THOMAS MORRELL.CHARLESTON, February 20, 1792.Remember me kindly to Brother and Sister Hickman, and all
friends. If all our force is not directed against this first defection
we may expect more European adventurers. Tarry not! The Lord
calls!

In addition to this important historical letter, calling
him to Charleston, S. C., another was received from
Rev. Jesse Lee, a copy of which is now presented:

BOSTON, March 4, 1792.MY DEAR BROTHER:

Having an opportunity, I now write you a
few lines. I am well. Brother D. Smith, who has been traveling
with me, is still afflicted with the rheumatism. Brother Robert Bonsall,
from New York, has lately come to travel with us. We are in
want of a dozen more. Lynn is a great place for Methodists, and the
work of the Lord revives among the people. We have a small class
in Marblehead, and a few in other places. We don't preach in Salem
at present. To-day I have preached three times in this town, in a
school-house, for the first time. We have never preached here on
the Sabbath, at the usual hours, before. We could do pretty well
here if we had a preacher to stay constantly in town. I hope the
Lord will send us more laborers. Calvinism is on the decline, though
very strong yet. I hope to see good days in this part of the world
yet. I believe it will be a great place for us after a little time. I
still hope that you will come to see us before long. I wish it
could be so that you could come and stay one year in Boston. I
hear that the work of the Lord revives much in Connecticut, and
greatly in Philadelphia. I shall he glad to hear from you at any
time. Direct a letter to the care of Mr. John Taylor, merchant, No. 7
Long Wharf, Boston.

I am your real friend, JESSE LEE.

Having determined to go to Charleston, in accordance
with the urgent request of the Bishop, Mr. Cooper
was aided by the members of his Church in Alexandria
in making the needed preparations for his journey.
They would gladly have retained him, but, being convinced
of the necessity of his services and the value of
his counsel to the Charlestonians, they yielded him up
to them. A view of the parting scene may be had from
the extract given below. On Sunday, April 8, he
preached his farewell sermons, and bade the people
adieu, shaking their hands while tears were streaming
from their eyes, and the next day began his journey.
He says:

Monday 9. I arose very early and hurried breakfast, that I might
start by eight o'clock. A considerable number of friends came up to
take their last leave of me. When our horses were brought out and
saddled it was visible that we should have an extraordinary parting.
Every movement toward the setting off filled the hearts of the friends
fuller and fuller. Several were in tears a good while before the most
affecting moment of parting. When all things were ready I gave out:

“Saviour, grant us now thy blessing;Send it now, Lord, from above;Grant that we may part a-praising,And rejoicing in, thy love.Farewell, brother, etc.,Till we all shall meet above.”

But few could sing at all. My own heart got so full that I could
not easily utter my words in prayer. Soon as we rose from our knees
I went round to bid them, one by one, farewell; but I was so overcome
that I could not speak a word to them, and they were to
full to speak to me, so we squeezed each other by the hand, and with
hearts full and eyes full turned our backs and parted. Several of the
dear friends accompanied us for ten or twelve miles—Brothers Potts,
Sanford, Rhoads, Summers, Donaldson, and one or two more. When
we stopped to part, at Poheck, we were again beyond speaking. They
returned and I went on, having Brother S. Williams for my companion,
who sets off with the intention of going through to Charleston
with me. He is a young man from Montgomery, and finds his circumstances
and business will admit of his taking this journey. As
it is suitable and convenient to him, as it is most acceptable and
agreeable to me, I pray that we may have a good and comfortable
travel together. We stopped at a Mr. Fowler's and fed our beasts,
and got refreshment for ourselves. Mr. Fowler, it seems, is a Deist,
but he was not at home; his lady was remarkably kind to us,
and appears to be very sorry that he is unbelieving in revelation.

We started forward again, but Brother Potts would go a few miles
farther with us; the others were gone back. When he stopped to
return, it renewed the distress. We embraced each other as we sat
on our horses, but no speech—so we parted—he returned and we
went forward. He is one of our local preachers in Fairfax County,
and a dear, good little man. I can but remark, to-day, when we
were parting with our friends, Brother Watters was among them,
a pious and useful preacher, one of the oldest American preachers
in the Connection. He was the most affected that ever I saw him
on any occasion whatever. Brother Williams remarked this also,
and told me that, a few days ago, Brother Watters was observing
to him that “parting scarcely ever affected him much;” but to-day
he was as much wrought upon as others. O that the Lord may
bless them all! We are now separated. I feel myself much attached
to the dear friends in Alexandria and Fairfax; I have been
with them for nearly fifteen months. The Lord has blessed my feeble
labors in a degree. I leave upward of a hundred in Society in
town, and found fifty or sixty when I came. All glory be to Christ
my Lord! The good that is done the Lord himself doeth!

CHAPTER VIII.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN CHARLESTON, S. C.,
AND IN NEW ENGLAND, 1792, 1793.

MR. COOPER began his tour to Charleston, S. C., on
the 9th of April, having S. Williams for a traveling
companion. The journey was completed by the 4th
of May; and he was received with many tokens of
respect by the brethren of the new charge. Taking
up his board with John McDowell, he entered at once
upon the work before him, but soon had reason to feel
that the water and climate of the city would not prove
healthful to him, a truth that he was led more and
more fully to realize, and that finally caused him to
repair to another and more genial field of labor. He
remained with them only till the 8th of September.

Of the condition of the work he says:

I find that William Hammett has written an appeal to what he
calls Truth and Circumstances, in vindication of his conduct in separating
from the Methodist Connection. Brother Morrell has written
an answer to it, which is now in press, and is expected out next
week. ** Cooper's Diary.

Mr. Morrell continued with him in the city as pastor,
for a few weeks, and then returned to New York.
The congregations, which at first were very small, began
to increase, but there was little vital force among
the professors of religion, so that Mr. Cooper was much
oppressed, and mourned over the “deadness of the
people.” In referring to it, he says: “The people in
this city are remarkably careless about religion.” And
again, when speaking of his resolve to return to Maryland,
he says:

Charleston does not suit me. I fear I should never be fully reconciled
to the climate, and hope I never shall to the customs of the
place. Very little religion, either among clergy or laity, but luxury,
fashion, and abomination in abundance.

During the few months of his pastorate at Charleston
he twice visited John's Island, under the guidance
of James Waddell, who resided there. The first visit
was made on June 25, on which occasion, at night,
he preached the first sermon that was preached there
by a Methodist minister. The congregation was composed
mainly of colored people, and Mr. Cooper was
encouraged to believe that had they the opportunity
of having gospel instruction they would soon become
religious.

In July Hammett's Defense against Morrell's Answer
appeared, and led Mr. Cooper to fear that it would
“kick up the dust again.” He visited Mr. Hammett,
was received with much kindness, and, upon his resting
it, was shown a letter of Mr. Wesley with
readiness and friendliness of spirit. The same evening
(July 10) the Methodists were favored with the
most powerful display of the divine power that had
come upon them during the pastorate of Mr. Cooper.
As presenting a faithful picture of the state of affairs
in both religious and social life, the following extract
is given: ** Cooper's Diary.

Tuesday, July 10. At night I preached from Eccl. i, 14: “Behold,
all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” After showing the vanity and
vexation of setting our affections upon earthly objects, and of following
evil or vain pursuits, I made some pointed use of the subject.
God gave me considerable liberty and faith. While I was addressing
the congregation pointedly upon turning from the vanities
of the world unto the living God, several wept considerably. At
length a woman of gay appearance fell upon her knees and cried
out for mercy; another fell in the gallery, and appeared to be under
deep distress. After closing the sermon I went to the distressed,
who still was on her knees, near the pulpit, crying. She has been,
it seems, a great sinner against God and her own soul; and now
her cry was, “What shall I do?” I told her, “Jesus came to save
sinners, even the chief of sinners.” O that her conviction may be
deepened and her soul saved! I repaired to my lodging very happy,
excepting that I was grieved at the conduct of one of our sisters,
who appeared to treat the poor distressed soul with contempt,
and seemed tried because some of us attended to her. I don't know
what to think of such people's religion. If sinners, under alarm
and awakenings, are not attended to by religious people, what are
they to do? But, says one, let them forsake their wicked company
and ways. True; but there is a beginning, and whenever we see
a sign of setting out, we should strengthen them by our admonitions
and prayers, lest they should not be able to stand. The strong
should help to bear up the weak.

This woman was opposed not only as above stated,
but by others also. She had, until her conviction, been
a member of the “Church of England, so called;” had
a pew in the “New Church,” where she attended in
fashion, pride, and vanity; but, says Mr. Cooper, “never
got any benefit from the sermons preached in that
pulpit.”

And how should she, when, to her knowledge, the minister was a
vile sinner against God, who could drink, dance, play, and live after
the flesh like other wicked men?

After her conviction she gave up her pew in the other
church and sought association with the Methodists. Her
former minister, on visiting her on her sick bed, derided
her for “leaving her church, and going to the Methodist
meeting, in such a mean way that she desired him to
leave her room.” Her mother, too, became her enemy;
and the colonel, in whose house she resided, also violently
opposed her; but amid all she held fast to her
determination to renounce sin, and “spend her remaining
days in penitence, prayer, and godliness.” Telling
Mr. Cooper of her condition, from her sick couch, she
received such counsel and instruction that her faith in
the atoning blood of the Saviour was so intensified that
she cried out, as he was leaving her sick chamber, that
his work for her “was better than all the doctors and
medicine in town.”

The presiding elder, Rev. Reuben Ellis, visited the
church in Charleston in July, and spent nearly a week
with Mr. Cooper and his flock, preaching several times,
and impressing the pastor (who had not met him before)
with his great love for the Church and zeal in behalf
of the cause of God.

In August a malignant fever broke out upon the city,
from the effects of which many died. Mr. Cooper himself
was prostrated thereby, and both he and his friends
were impressed with the conviction that the state of his
health demanded his return to the north. To this the
presiding elder, who had again come to the city, assented.
speaking of him, Mr. Cooper says:

Wednesday, August 30. To-day Brother Ellis came to town. He
is quite hearty, but 'tis likely he will get the fever, for almost every
body who comes to this place is taken with it. Such a sickly and
mortal time was hardly ever known here before.

His shipping stores having been procured, and all
things being in readiness, Mr. Cooper bade his little
flock adieu, and embarked, September 18th, in the sloop
Sally, under charge of Captain Doane, a Methodist, for
New York, where, after a stormy, dangerful, and in
part provisionless passage, he arrived on Sunday morning,
the 30th day of September. Breakfast was served
to him, with the preachers, at the Chapel House. “Public
thanks were returned,” he tells us, “‘to Almighty
God in both churches for our deliverance upon the seas.”
Eighteen days were spent with the Methodists of New
York, during which time he visited the Houseman,
Doane, Anderson, Browers, Smith, Bleecker, Russell,
Staples, Fosbrooke, Clarke, Holliday, Jaques, Hazzard,
Wainright, Mackeness, Mott, Newton, Valleau, Humbert,
Mercein, Hervey, Matthias, Myers, Cooper, Snow,
Shatford, Johnson, and Arcularius families, united with
them in Christian worship, and listened to the delightful
story of the growth of Methodism in the city as detailed
by them.

After spending nearly three weeks with his old
friends, and those who had come into the Church
through their influence and example, he took stage
toward Philadelphia.

Leaving the stage at Heightstown, he visited Joseph
Hutchinson, where he met with Revs. Jesse Lee and
Hope Hull, en route for the General Conference, to be
held in Baltimore, Md. He also called upon Sister
Holmes, living a few miles from Allentown. The
next day Samuel Emley, who was the first person
who received the Methodists in the neighborhood
of Allentown, was visited by him. From thence he
went forward, by Crosswicks and Burlington, to
Philadelphia. Here two days were spent in religious
and social entertainment, after which he went forward
to Baltimore, where he arrived on Wednesday,
October 31.

As the proceedings of this General Conference have
not been before the Church in full, and additional particulars
tending to show the work of the body will be
favorably received, the following is set before the reader
from Mr. Cooper's diary:

Thursday, November 1. General Conference sat at nine o'clock
A. M. We had a large concourse of preachers from throughout the
United States, and two from Nova Scotia. In all we had in this
Conference a hundred and fourteen regular members, besides a
number who were not regular members. Our business, began in
great love and unity. We took up all this day in preparing our
business, rules and regulations for proceeding through the Conference:
the bishop to preside; a moderator to be appointed daily, to
keep order; a committee of eight—two bishops and six elders—was
appointed to prepare the business for the Conference. We formed
ourselves in a regular legislative order: motions made, seconded,
debated, called for, put, voted, and carried. We appointed for preaching
to be every night and morning while Conference should hold, by
the preachers in order—a new preacher every time.

During Conference we had much debating upon various subjects
but still love continued. We spoke plainly and freely what was in
our minds; made several alterations and improvements in our form
of Discipline. I believe great good will result from this Conference,
though there are four or five preachers much dissatisfied with some
things that were done. Several were ordained, a few missionaries
sent to different parts—one to Grenada, one to Newfoundland,
two to Nova Scotia, etc.

Thursday, November 15. We this day finished our business in
Conference about five o'clock P. M. We returned our unanimous
thanks to Dr. Coke for his labor in serving the Conference. This
evening the Doctor preached his last sermon; an exhortation was
given; then three or four went to prayer, and the Lord attended us
in gracious power. A work broke out and continued for a few hours;
several were converted. ** Cooper's Diary

From the General Conference Mr. Cooper went to
Alexandria, Va., where was begun, on Saturday, November
18, the Conference for that district. The
session lasted through three days, after which the
preachers repaired to their various circuits and stations.

Mr. Cooper had been appointed by the solicitation of
Bishop Asbury, after the General Conference, to the
charge of Boston. He, however, did not immediately
repair thither, but spent some time in visiting his relatives
and friends in Maryland and Delaware.

On the 25th day of December he bade them adieu,
and began his journey to New England, being accompanied
by the Rev. Amos G. Thompson. Having to
ride on horseback, and through wintry weather, the
journey was not completed until the 2d day of February,
1793. In performing it he and his companion
visited Wilmington, Del.; Philadelphia, where three
days were spent; Milford, J. Barclay's; Mrs. Perrine's
Perth Amboy; reaching New York city on the 9th day
of January. Here were spent five days among the old
friends of Mr. Cooper, during which time he and Mr.
Thompson ministered in the churches the word of life
to vast congregations of delighted listeners. On Monday,
the 14th, the trip to New England was resumed,
and Nicholas Berrian (near Kingsbridge) entertained
them the first night; after which they visited Stamford,
Conn.; Norwich, where was living one family of Methodists,
Mr. Dean and wife, with whom Mr. Cooper
spent some happy hours, he having known them before
while resident in New York; Stratford, where, at Capt.
Peck' s, they found it necessary to tarry for awhile that
they might dry their garments, which had been thoroughly
soaked by the rain through which they had ridden.
While here they preached, Mr. Cooper on the first
evening, at Samuel Ward's; and on the second evening
Mr. Thompson, at Captain Peck's. The next day,
Saturday, 19th, passing through New Haven and several
other New England towns, they reached Middlefields,
where they spent the Sabbath. Of Middlefields
and its inhabitants, who were Methodists, Mr. Cooper
thus speaks:

About seven o'clock P. M. we reached Mr. Seth Coe's, the first
house in Middlefields. When we rode up to the door Mrs. Coe was
the first who appeared. We hardly had time to ask who lived
there before she asked, with a warm accent, whether we were not
Methodist preachers. I replied we were. She immediately pressed
us to alight and stay all night. We did so, and found a very kind
reception. Mr. Coe and his wife are both remarkably friendly to the
Methodists. There is one young woman in his family a Methodist.
At nine o'clock we had family prayer. After prayer Brother Thompson
and I sang a hymn; then Mrs. Coe desired that we would pray
again, and the Lord was graciously with us.

Sunday, 20. We had it published through town that we would
preach at half-past ten o'clock and at half-past two. I preached in
the morning, and Brother T. in the afternoon. Here is a Society of
about twenty members. Friend Elisha Miller is leader, and appears
like a steady man. In the evening we had a meeting at friend
Ward's. I opened to them the subject of election and reprobation in
the light in which the Scripture appears to hold it. Several came to
me with expressions of great satisfaction upon the subject, and desired
me to give them a discourse upon the subject of falling from
grace, which I did. They all attended with great attention. I
then had to answer several objections made against our doctrines.
Brother Thompson added a few arguments. I trust this evening was
profitably spent. All but one or two seemed to be entirely satisfied.
Some expressed a desire that part of my lecture should be printed. ** Cooper's Diary.

The next day they rode to Middletown, Conn., called
upon and dined with Benjamin Tarbox, a member and
the leader of the Society in the city, and from thence
went to Timothy Powers's and “put up for the day.”
Mr. Cooper preached at night, met the Society, and
found that the church there was composed of about
twenty members. “Poor things!” said he, “they meet
with reproach for the cross of Christ, but they seem to
bear it with patience and fortitude.” Being detained
another day by reason of a snow storm, other families
were visited, and at night a sermon was delivered, and
signs of prosperity were manifested, much to the delight
of the itinerant shepherds.

Leaving Middletown, they went through Glastonbury
to East Hartford, dined at Esquire Pitkens's, and
lodged at Thomas Spencer's. From thence they rode
to Dr. Steel's, in Ellington, who, with his wife, had
lately joined our Church. Here Mr. Cooper preached at
night, and found a Society of about twenty members.
The next day, accompanied by Dr. Steel to Mr. John
Stanley's, and then by Mr. Stanley, they rode to Tolland,
where at that time was a Society of sixty or more
members. Being strongly urged by Mr. Thomas Howard,
whose guests they were, and by Captain Robertson,
to spend the Sabbath with them, they consented, and
remained two days. The circuit preacher was the Rev.
George Roberts, who also was the elder over the district.
At his appointment—a school-house near Tolland—Mr.
Cooper preached on Saturday, and, with
Captain Robertson, spent the night with Mr. Grovers.
From thence they returned on Sunday morning to Mr.
Howard's, in Tolland. Here he preached, and also
Mr. Thompson, as will be seen in the following extract
from his diary:

Sunday, 27. At half past ten o'clock I preached in the Tolland
Court-house to an attentive set of hearers, with a good degree of
liberty. At two o'clock I preached again with much freedom
of speech and in faith. The people appeared to be all swallowed up
with attention, drinking in the word with remarkable and uncommon
eagerness. In the application the congregation was much melted,
particularly the young people, of whom there were many. When
I addressed myself to the youth, who I saw were much affected,
many of them solemnly arose to their feet, in a respectful manner, to
receive the address, and stood till I passed from them to the others.
Poor things! some of their hearts appeared ready to burst, and their
eyes were suffused with tears. This was a most solemn and blessed
time of the Lord's goodness and favor. O may the impressions be
lasting!

In the evening Brother Thompson preached at seven o'clock. It
was with difficulty that we got liberty of the Court-house at night. A
singing-school had met before us, and were backward in giving place
to preaching. Several spoke to them and they stood out for some
time. At length, after hearing them talk for some time, I was
distressed, and arose and addressed them upon the subject in the
following manner: “When we made the appointment for preaching
to be here to-night, we knew nothing of there being an appointment
for singing; so that we had no design against the singing whatever.
But, as both appointments are made, and the people are come together,
it is better so to accommodate ourselves as that both may be attended
to. First, let the singers sing, the hymns both before and after
preaching, and then, as the evenings are long, they may sing for a
season afterward.” To this they agreed, and we had a still and
quiet time.”

On Monday, January 28, Mr. Cooper and his traveling
companion, Mr. Thompson, separated, the latter having
consented to stay on that circuit and help Mr. Roberts
to enlarge the borders thereof, and to increase among
the members the spirit of revival. The night was
spent with John Norris, who, the next day, set out with
Mr. Cooper to accompany him as far as to Providence.
At Ashford he found Mr. Jason Woodward, the leading
merchant of the town, anxious to have regular
preaching by the Methodists established there, whom
he encouraged to believe that the Rev. Mr. Roberts
would “take that place into his circuit within a week
or two.” Here, too, he met with John Allen, one of the
preachers among the Methodists at that day, and reported
in the Minutes of the Conference of 1793 as
having withdrawn from our ministry and connection.
He was painfully impressed with the feeling that a
change had passed over the spirit of Mr. Allen within
the two or three years since they had met. During
the conversation had with him he found that he was
no longer engaged in ministering to the people on a
regular circuit; and afterward, while conversing with
Captain Cargill and his lady, at Pomfret, with whom
he and Mr. Norris spent a day and night, he learned
such facts concerning Mr. Allen, as led to the following
record:

This evening I heard of Brother Allen's having preached in this
neighborhood several times; and some thing were related of him
that made me think that my suspicions of him were properly founded.
He has agreed with the people to preach in this town as a hireling
for some months, at $3 a Sabbath. So I am informed. No other
preacher of our order has yet been here. What is his motive or intention
the Lord only knows. I felt much distressed.

Mr. Cooper preached in Pomfret, at the residence of
Captain Cargill, and thenceforward sought to secure
a regular visitation there by the preachers in the adjoining
circuit. From thence he went forward, passing
through Providence, Attleborough, Walpool, Dedham,
and Roxborough, and arrived at Boston on Saturday,
February 2. Here he sought the residence of Samuel
Burrill, where he engaged to board, and prepared at
once to set forward in the performance of his pastoral
work.

As the history of the period now passing under review
has not been given by our historians, and as
especially some of the statements now issued may be
found to conflict with the records of the great and
valuable historian of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
the Rev. Abel Stevens, LL.D., it is deemed important
to set forth, as far as we can, the recital of these records
in the language of Mr. Cooper himself. It will be seen
that in connection with his services in Boston, other
towns contiguous thereto were visited by him, and that
from time to time he exchanged places with his presiding
elder, Rev. Jesse Lee, who had charge of the
Society in Lynn, being assisted by Menzies Raynor, a
deacon. Mr. Cooper's movements at Lynn were of
such a nature as to convey the impression that he had
authority to exercise discipline while among them even
to the extent of changing the action of Mr. Lee in
some respects, on account of which he was severely
censured by the latter. The following is from Mr.
Cooper's diary:

Sunday, February 3. I preached twice in Boston and met the
class at night. Here is a very small Society, and, poor things! they
have labored under many and great discouragements. There are not
twenty in all who have joined us. I felt a little encouraged, though
the prospect at present is but small, and many obstacles appear in
the way. One joined to night, and another, who had become quite
careless resolved to set out afresh.

Tuesday, 5. To-day I rode over to Lynn, about twelve miles, before
dinner, where I fell in with Brother Raynor, one of our preachers,
whom I had not seen for nearly six years. I put up at friend Benjamin
Johnson's, who is the principal member of our Church there.
He and his wife are very kind; and some others of his family are
members with us. The Lord has done great things here among the
people. More than a hundred are in class, and they are still coming
in. Here is the first Methodist preaching-house built in the State
of Massachusetts. I rode after dinner to Marblehead, and preached
at night to a crowded congregation of attentive hearers. I had considerable
liberty and preached a long sermon; many hearts were
much tendered. I lodged at Mr. Martin's. Marblehead is a thickly
settled town of five or six thousand inhabitants.

Returning to Lynn, Mr. Cooper spent about two
weeks with the Methodists there, preaching, holding
class and prayer-meetings, and visiting the members,
among whom were Captain Johnson's and Mr. Mudge's
families. He did not find the Society to be acting in
conformity to the rules of the Discipline in some
respects, and he thus speaks of it:

Saturday, February 9. In the evening I met class, and enforced
an observance of our rules and order of worship; of standing to sing,
and kneeling to pray. They come into it pretty easily. I have
spoken to the classes in general, and believe all of the members
will come off from that old, careless way of sitting to sing and
standing to pray.

Another visit was made to Marblehead at the expiration
of two weeks from the former, where a crowded
house listened to the gospel message, and much encouraged
the speaker to hope for a work of religious
activity in that community. After visiting New Mills,
and preaching in the school-house in that village, he
returned to Lynn, where he had the satisfaction and
pleasure of meeting with the Rev. Jesse Lee, who had
returned and proposed to “tarry for some time” among
the people. On Saturday Mr. Cooper returned to
Boston, where he says he proposes to stay for some
time.

Among the members of, and those friendly to, the
Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston were Mrs. Wells,
Mr. Clough, Mrs. White, Miss Costin, Mrs. Cambwell,
Mr. Flavel, Mr. Switcher and wife, Mr. Tufts, who all
were very earnest in their endeavors to advance the
interest of the Redeemer's kingdom. By their co-operation
the work began to revive and the list of
members to be increased. A month was now spent in
Boston, after which a second visit was made to Lynn
and adjacent places. Of this visit, he says: ** Cooper's Diary.

Saturday, March 23. I visited several friends. I found that my
dear Brother Lee has not enforced the Discipline in this place. It
was a considerable exercise to my mind to think that an old preacher
of his standing should introduce such a precedent in our Church as
to dispense with a plain and positive rule as long as he had done in
this town. Any who choose may come to the classes, and as long
as they please, without joining. Six months, nine months, nay, a
year, and not join. If our preachers thus make innovations upon
our rules and Discipline, one, one part, another, another part, we may
give them all up; for one has as much right as another to lay aside
such rules or parts as he does not like. This will never do. We
must keep our rules or lay them aside. If good, let's keep them; if
bad, let's give them up; but let us all be one in practice. I have felt
sensibly grieved at the omission of the rules here, and told the
friends that I thought not to meet the classes, unless the Discipline of
the church was attended to.

Mr. Cooper spent a week during this visit with the
Church at Lynn, but was much cast down when called
upon to attend the classes, and finding great dullness
in those meetings, which he attributed to the mingling
with them of those who were not members, he was led
to declare: “If Brother Lee does not attend to the
proper rule, I believe that when I visit Lynn I shall
omit meeting the classes.”

After preaching at Gravesend, as well as several
times at Lynn, he returned to Boston, where he
preached three times on Easter Sunday. On the 4th
of April, Mr. Lee having come to the city, he plainly
stated his objections to his course as above referred
to, thereby awakening a state of feeling which afterward
caused unpleasant relations to subsist between
them.

The Boston Methodists had, at this time, hired a
lecture-room for their Sabbath services, and through
the kindness of the Rev. Mr. Murray and his flock,
the privilege was granted of Mr. Cooper's preaching
every Sabbath afternoon in their “meeting-house, after
their service was over.” This was a house of about
the size of the St. George's Methodist Episcopal
Church, in Philadelphia. The Methodists were now
contemplating the erection of a church, and on the
9th day of April Mr. Cooper and Mr. Lee, who had
come to town, went through the city looking “for a
lot to build upon,” but were not suited.

Another visit was made to Lynn April 15, and on
the next day to Marblehead; then to Danvers, where
he visited several families, among whom were the Rev.
Mr. Green, “the minister of the place,” Mr. Hutchenson,
Mr. Putnam, Mr. Carr, and Mr. Pindar. From
thence he rode back to Lynn, having in four days
preached eight sermons. At the end of the week he
returned to Boston.

On Tuesday, April 23, Mr. Cooper and his friends
prepared a petition to lay before the selectmen, asking
for the use of the school-house in which to hold their
Sabbath meetings. Forty subscribers names were attached
to it before its presentation, but such was the
spirit of opposition to the Methodists that it was not
granted for some time afterward. On Thursday, April
25, he went to Charlestown, spent some hours with Mr.
Wran's family, and at night, having obtained permission
of the Charlestown selectmen, preached in their
school-house to “a large and crowded congregation of
very attentive hearers.” **Cooper's Diary.
An appointment was now made for preaching to the Charlestownians regularly
every week on Thursday evening, and such was the
popularity of the movement that crowded assemblies
waited on his ministry. The pulpit of the Rev. Mr.
Morse, compiler of the American Geography, was opened to him, and the Holden, Robbins, and Larkin
families, with others, kindly entertained him.

On Tuesday, May 21, a watch-night service was held
in Lynn, to which Mr. Lee called Mr. Cooper, inviting
him also to aid him in preparing a petition to the General
Court in favor of the Methodist Society in Lynn.
These duties were performed, and he also preached in
Malden and Salem before returning to Boston. After
his return he attended the convention of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, which began in Boston, May 28,
1793. The services were opened by a sermon from
the Rev. Doctor Walter, on “the qualification and duty
of ministers in letting their light shine in knowledge,
purity, and zeal particularly.” The day following,
being election day, “when the General Court meets,
and qualifies for office, and, the governor and lieutenant
governor are declared,” he attended at eleven o'clock
A.M., at the old Brick Meeting, to hear the election
sermon preached by Dr. Parker, an Episcopal minister,
who, to a large concourse of people, “gave (says Mr. C.)
a learned and very suitable discourse.” The relations
between the Episcopalians and Methodists of Boston at
this time were very pleasant; an illustration of which
may be seen in the following extract from the diary:

May 31. Since I have been here in Boston, now four months, I
have from time to time been reading various old books which belong
to old Doctor Cutler's library. The Doctor was the first Episcopal
minister to the North Church in Boston, for whom the church was
built and fitted out with a complete set of bells. His daughter, Elizabeth,
now upward of seventy years, is living, and lives in the house
where I board, namely at Mr. Samuel Burrill's, north end of Sheaf
Street, near the North Church. By this means I have recourse to
sundry of her books, which were her father's. An octavo Bible,
which was his, with marginal notes and the Apocrypha, has been
presented to me, which I accepted thankfully, and have had it newly
bound, so that it is now an excellent Bible.

These books doubtless, some of them, were helpful
to him in the controversies, arguments, sermons, and
printed matter which he gave to the public against
those who opposed Arminianism.

On Sunday, evening, June 2, a new feature of Methodistic
work was set before the Bostonians, in the use
of a sea-captain as leader in the conduct of a prayer-meeting.
He says:

It was to be held by Captain Manning, master of a vessel, in the
harbor, and Enoch Mudge, from Lynn. The people, hearing that a
sea-captain was about to stand forth, in the Lord's cause, flocked together
to see and hear what they thought almost a wonder—a seaman
pray in public.

The day previous he received a letter from his presiding
elder, Mr. Lee, calling him to go to Lynn, Marblehead,
Salem, Danvers, and Lynnfield to preach. He
did so, arriving at Lynn on Thursday, the 6th of June.
Here he found that the church was in great commotion
by reason of an angry strife between their preacher,
Mr. Lee, and the singers of the congregation. He says:

Almost every member of Society and of the congregation seems
uneasy on one side or the other. It appears that both parties are
to blame, and both seem set and stiff. I am resolved, by divine
assistance, to commence mediator and moderator, and to do what I can
to reconcile them. Our enemies, I understand, are ready to triumph
over the disturbance that exists. O that peace may take place!

This disturbance, as we shall see further on, led to
inharmonious relations between Mr. Cooper and Mr.
Lee. A controversy was at this time raging between
the Calvinists and Arminians of New England, and Mr.
Cooper engaged in the discussion, using the Boston
Sentinel as well as the pulpit in maintaining his Arminian
views. Read the following extract:

Lynn, June 7. I was very unwell all day, nevertheless I wrote an
answer to a piece in last Wednesday's Sentinel upon predestination.
In it, among other things, I undertook to show that if all things
were decreed then there can be no sin, for sin is opposed to the law
of God, and consequently contrary to the will of God; but if all things
are decreed, then nothing comes to pass contrary to the will of God,
so that there can be no such thing as sin. I also showed that it was
man's duty to do the will of God, and that no man would be punished
for doing his duty, so that if nothing comes to pass contrary to the
will of God there can be no punishment or blame, seeing that man
has only done his duty in doing the will of God. I also undertook
to show, that if all things were unavoidably fixed by an unalterable
decree, then man had no freedom of choice, but was obliged to choose
what was decreed, consequently was not a free agent, but only a
machine, and in such case how could he be accountable? It would
sound strangely to say that man must be accountable for the decrees
of Jehovah.

Saturday, 8. I preached in Lynnfield, at Mr. Munro's. We had
so many people that I preached under the trees. After preaching I
had much disputing to do with predestinarians and Calvinists. With
one I combated the subject of the decrees. He very strenuously
contended that every event, that all things whatsoever, were foreordained
and inevitably fixed, so that they could and should come to
pass, and nothing could be but that which was decreed. I, having
been studying the subject the day before in answering a certain
paper writer, was able to head him, and entangle him pretty well.
At length I asked him whether he believed it was decreed that a
man should cut his throat? for this sometimes took place among
events. He stood a moment, and, to be consistent, he answered,
“Yes.” This had such an effect upon some that they spoke out against
such a horrid idea, such an abominable opinion. This man is called
the champion disputant in all the town of Lynnfield. But he was
much embarrassed and confounded when I asked him the following
questions:

1. “Is not sin opposed to the law of God and contrary to his will?”Answer, “Yes.”2. “Does any thing come to pass contrary to the decree and will
of God?”Answer, “No.”
“Then,” said I, “there can be no sin.”3. “Is it man's duty to do the will and pleasure of God?”Answer, “Yes.”4. “Will man be punished or blamed for doing his duty?”Answer, “No.”5. “And does nothing come to pass but the will and pleasure of
the Deity? Then man will not be blamed or punished at all.” **Cooper's Diary.

Returning to Lynn Mr. Cooper continued his effort to
repair the breach that had been made, by endeavoring
to induce both parties to make some concessions to each
other. He was unsuccessful, and thereafter abandoned
the task of peacemaker. Marblehead was next visited;
a sermon was delivered to a large concourse of people,
pastoral visits were made, among which were calls upon
Mr. Prentis and Mr. Bowlar, with the former of whom
he ate breakfast and with the latter dinner. Thence
he went to Salem, where, half past four o'clock on
Wednesday, June 12, he preached “in the Rev. Mr.
Hopkins's meeting-house. From thence he went to
“New Mills, in Danvers,” and preached. While riding
out from Salem, en route to New Mills, a gentleman
accosted him on the street, thus:

“How do you do, sir? I am a stranger to you, but
have had the pleasure of hearing you preach to-day,
and also heard you when you preached in the Court-house.
I was ashamed,” continued he, “to see no more
of the ministers attend your meeting to-day [there was
but one there], but I wish you to come again. I hope
that I shall yet have such preaching in this town as
I like. My name is Chamberline, and when you come
again, call upon me.”

Another term was now spent in Boston and Charlestown
in pastoral work, after which, on the sixth day of
July, he again went to Lynn, making thereafter a visit
to one of the towns above mentioned. The Sabbath,
July 7, was spent in Marblehead, where he preached
three times in the Rock Meeting-house, the congregation
increasing in numbers at each succeeding service. It
had only been a short time since the chief proprietors
of this church were so violently opposed to the Methodists
that they said they would rather that the meeting-house
should be burned down than that a Methodist
preacher should go into it and preach. But they now
gave up the key for Mr. Cooper. It is pleasant to note
that prejudice was subsiding. Returning to Boston,
the work was there resumed and carried forward with
a view to the approaching session of the Annual Conference,
which was to be convened at Lynn on the first
of August. On Sunday, the 28th of July, he preached
his last sermon in Boston for the conference year, and
on the following Tuesday closed his labors by holding
a love-feast. The Society during the six months of
pastorate had increased from nineteen members to
forty-one. Of the love-feast above referred to he thus
speaks:

Tuesday, July 30. This afternoon two preachers, Brothers Smith
and Raynor, came to town. At night we held a love-feast, and a
blessed time we had. The Lord was with us, of a truth. This is
the first love-feast, that was ever held in Boston. So noted as this
great town has been for religion, nevertheless that apostolic and
primitive custom of love-feasts was never introduced here till now,
unless by the Sandemanians, a new and but little-known society.

On Wednesday, July 31, Mr. Cooper and his two co-laborers,
Smith and Raynor, went to Lynn to attend
the session of the Annual Conference. This session,
the second Annual Conference held in New England,
was in some respects so unpleasant, and the historical
records thereof have been so meager, that it is needful,
we think, to give the record thereof from Mr. Cooper's
diary, in his own words. He says:

Wednesday, July 31. We rode to Lynn, ready for Conference the
next day. We fell in with Brother Asbury, who had been at Lynn
two or three days. He soon informed me that it was his particular
wish for me to continue in and to take charge of this district. This
was disagreeable to me, but, though with reluctance, I concluded, for
the sake of good order and government, I would not refuse to stay.
So I yield to take and bear the cross. But it is as much as I can do
to submit. O Lord, I wish to do thy will, and nothing contrary to
thy pleasure!

As Mr. Cooper was to be made the presiding elder
of the district over which the Rev. Jesse Lee had been
presiding the previous year, the continuation of his
narrative will be given in the following chapter.

CHAPTER IX.
MR. COOPER ON THE BOSTON DISTRICT, 1793, 1794.

BISHOP ASBURY fully, sustained Mr. Cooper in his
course of action in the controversy between him and
Mr. Lee, and, becoming acquainted with the condition
of the Methodist Society in Lynn, saw the necessity of
making such an appointment for the ensuing year as
would place that Society under the ministerial charge
of some one other than Mr. Lee. The rule limiting
the time of continued service by a preacher to two consecutive
years in the same charge had not yet been
adopted by the Church, and in a few instances the
same pastor served the same people for a longer period.
Mr. Lee, as we shall see below, desired to avail himself
of this privilege, notwithstanding many of the church at
Lynn were anxious for his removal.

The historical records concerning this Conference
serve to awaken a spirit of inquiry on the part of the
student of Methodist history. Mr. Asbury says: ‘Circumstances
have occurred which have made this Conference
more painful than any one Conference besides.”
What these circumstances were we learn from Mr.
Cooper. He says:

Thursday, August 1. Conference began to-day and held all the
week. Of all the Conferences I ever attended this was the most
troublesome and trifling. So much accusation, cross-questions, dispute,
and opposition, that I confess I was grieved and ashamed.
The bishop found it a very difficult point to station the preachers.
He wanted Brother Raynor to go to York and take a station from
that Conference; but he (Brother R.), wished to stay in this district.
This was a matter of considerable trouble. Brother Lee the bishop
wanted also to remove, which was a case of a disagreeable nature.
There appears to have existed a jealousy between Brother Asbury
and Brother Lee for some time; and, probably, what has passed at
this Conference will not be soon forgotten; therefore I here think it
my duty to minute down a chain of occurrences which relate to the
conduct of them both in the present matter. 1. Brother Lee was
made an instrument in gathering the Society at Lynn, somewhere
about two years ago, as other preachers had done at other places
and times. At the last Conference the bishop, to gratify the society
and Brother Lee, appointed Brother Lee to stay at Lynn another
year, and also to preside over the district. Brother Lee took a settlement
among them, according to the laws and customs of the country,
but to be removed according to the Discipline of our Church. At
General Conference, last November, in Baltimore, Brother Lee strove
very hard to have several parts of the Discipline altered, and the
Bishop's power reduced, but he could not succeed—the bishop's
power was confirmed by that Conference. After General Conference,
the bishop appointed me to come up to Boston, which I did. When
I came to Lynn, I found that Brother Lee had neglected some parts of
our Discipline, the rules about society meetings, privileges granted to
strangers, etc., and that he had introduced some “new rules of his
own,” as he had before told Brother Hill. In those things I opposed
his measures at my first coming, but could not prevail with him to
alter. I told him we must defer them till conference. Such parts of the
Discipline as he favored in the General Conference, such as not singing
fugue tunes, etc., he was strenuous in and enforced, and required
strict adherence; but such parts as he opposed in General Conference,
though adopted by ever so great a majority, such as the reading of
the Scriptures in the congregation, etc., he would not submit to. I
told him it showed a stiff obstinacy. He wished every one to bend
to him, and would not bend to any one, or even to the Conference.

Some weeks—about two months—before the present conference
he was so stiff, and proceeded so improperly relative to the singing
of fugue tunes, that he gave great dissatisfaction to the singers and
members of the Society at large, so that there was a disturbance of a
serious nature. Numbers of our congregation said, if he stayed
another year they would return to the Congregational Society, from
whence they came. It was generally believed that he ought to be
removed. I spoke to him, and told him plainly, long enough before
Conference, that I expected the bishop would removehim, and he
might have held himself in readiness, if he would, so that he could
have gone after a few days or a week's warning. But he laid out
or left his matters in such a state that he could not, or pretended
that he could not, move for some time. The bishop appointed me to
take his place at Lynn and in the district, and desired him to go to
York, for he was to be appointed to that city. But he said he could
not go immediately, and would not agree to do so under three months.
The bishop said that York must be immediately supplied, and provided for; nevertheless he would have agreed to his staying a considerable
time at Lynn and among his other New England friends, if
he would give assurance of his going thither at some given time.
Brother Lee told me that he did not say he would not go in a shorter
time than three months—but still he did not, and would not agree to go sooner—and gave no assurance or real satisfaction that he would
go to York at all. He expressed a backwardness to succeed Brother
Morrell, who is now at York, for sundry reasons. At length he proposed
to go to the Province of Maine and take a station there. To
satisfy him the bishop gave him his desire, and agreed to fix him
there in the Minutes. Then he wanted his name printed to Lynn
and Maine both. This was to keep his place and hold upon Lynn,
which he seemed resolved to keep if he could. To this the bishop
would not agree; and I am afraid this will be the foundation of evil.
If he is printed to Lynn, I fear that he will be a trouble to us; and if
he is not, I fear that he will resent it so highly that he may take
some improper step. However, I resign it to the bishop; I scarcely
know what is best or what to say. I truly wonder that a man of
sense should be so troublesome and unreasonable and ungovernable,
so stiff and set. He complains that the bishop never consulted him;
but it seems that he never advised with the bishop, never gave him information of the state and condition of his district, and of the
preachers therein. It appears as if he wished the bishop to come
down to him and his desires, but he was not willing to submit to the
bishop. He may think that the bishop was absolute, and dealt
harshly with him; but I cannot see one absolute step. He yielded
and yielded, but Brother Lee yielded in hardly any thing, so that the principle of absoluteness was more to be seen, I thought, in Brother Lee than in Brother Asbury. Conference closed on Saturday night.

Monday, 5. We all left Lynn, except Brother Lee, who is resolved
to stay awhile. I propose to return there in about three or four
weeks to see if he will go away or not. I expect he will then go.
He is a man whom I esteem, and should more highly esteem if he
would alter in some points. Still I love him, and wish him to regulate
his conduct according to our Discipline. **Cooper's Diary.

The unpleasant episode above set forth is explanatory
of the hitherto unexplained embarrassments connected
with the Conference at Lynn in 1793, as also of the
fact that in the published Conference Minutes of that
year the town of Lynn is set forth twice as a station
for the preachers. On page 12 of the Minutes, in
answer to the question: “Where are the preachers
stationed this year?” Ezekiel Cooper is represented as
presiding elder of the district composed of the following
stations and circuits, to which are appointed the
Preachers whose names are also given:

Thus it appears: that Mr. Lee had obtained his request,
though, as far as we know, no other appointment
of a like character has been made in the history
of our Church. As anticipated by Mr. Cooper, his appointment
to Lynn was the occasion of renewed trouble.
When Mr. Cooper visited that place, in the course of his
travels over his district, he found Mr. Lee still there,
and engaged in stirring up a feeling of opposition on
the part of some against Mr. Cooper and Bishop Asbury.
The charges against Mr. Cooper were, that of prejudicing
the bishop against Mr. Lee, of being at the foundation
of all the disturbance between him and the Society
at Lynn, of raising or setting on foot certain reports
prejudicial to him [Lee], of seeking to root him
out from his station with the view of getting it for himself,
and other taunting and harassing statements, all
of which produced discussion and altercations. From
time to time during the year unpleasant scenes occurred,
thereby increasing the strife. Mr. Cooper
having taken up his residence at Lynn, Mr. Lee, during
his absence on the district, sought, says Mr. Cooper,
“to fix matters so that I might not return or stay.
And I now perceive, that if he can have influence
enough, he will defy the bishop and the authority of
Conference, and do as he pleases.”

Under date of December 20, Mr. Cooper says:

Brother Lee and I had a plain conversation to day, in which I was
pretty plain to him. I gave him to know that I would not consent
that the authority of Conference should be trampled on by him. He
appears to be resolved to oppose the regular government of our
Church, and I am more and more satisfied that he only wants power
and influence, and all would bend before him. He delights to exercise
authority when and where he can, but cannot bear to be ruled
or governed. I wish to love and be united with him, and am
resolved to strive after peace and fellowship, but I cannot be reconciled
to have the rules and government of the Church trampled on;
no! not by a brother, or even the warmest or best friend I have in
the world. Friends are near and dear, but the Connection is nearer.

As seen in the foregoing, the district over which Mr.
Cooper was appointed to preside was composed of Boston,
Needham, Lynn, Greenwich, and Warren Circuits.
He visited them from point to point. Thus he went
through Warren Circuit, preaching in Bridgewater at
Mr. Churchill's, in Easton at Mr. Stoke's, in Warren, in
a large barn which had been fitted up for a preaching-house
with seats and a pulpit; in Bristol, where the
Court-house was opened to him, and Captain Wardwell
entertained him; in Providence; in Pawtuxet; and
at Colonel Lippitt's. Returning to Lynn, on Sunday,
August 25, he preached twice, met a class attended a
funeral, visited a sick person, and afterward drank
coffee at Captain Johnson's, in company with Rev.
Mr. Sherman and others. Mr. Sherman and he soon
fell into a controversy about predestination, election,
and reprobation, which lasted for two or three hours.
The following account of the dispute is from Mr.
Cooper's diary. He says:

Sunday, 25. He [Rev. Mr. Sherman] discovered as great prejudice
against the Methodists as ever I saw in a man, and brought sundry
great and false charges against us, which I was enabled to answer
fully to his confusion and to the satisfaction of the company. He
got violently angry, and spoke unbecoming a Christian minister or a
gentleman. But, through mercy and grace, I was enabled to maintain
a loving and calm spirit, which helped my cause as much, I suppose,
as his temper and hard speeches hurt his. Several in company
checked him from time to time for his bitter reflections instead of
arguments, and wished him, if he could to answer my arguments,
which he called sophistry, assuring him that until he did, they must
receive my opinion and arguments as scriptural and sound reasoning.
I assured the company that it was my opinion that the Rev.
Mr. S. would very freely answer my arguments if he could, but
as it was out of his power to do it by Scripture or reason, the only
come-off was to call it sophistry. I held that Christ died for all men,
and that there was an offer of salvation to all; that unconditional
election and reprobation by unalterable decrees was not a scriptural
doctrine, neither was it true, together with several other points connected
with them. He was violent against Arminianism, which led us
to an investigation on that subject, and the arbitrary, unjust proceedings
of the Synod of Dort against the Arminians, in refusing to give
Episcopius and others the privilege of stating or defending their
own principles and doctrines. So that the more we talked upon that
the better did Arminianism appear, and the worse did Calvinism and
conduct of that professed assembly of Calvinistic divines look.
Mr S. was glad to make a retreat.

We then traced the antiquity of predestination. I followed it
back to the beginning of the fifth and end of the fourth century,
when St. Augustine wrote in favor of it; but I could not allow it to
be of an older date in the Christian Church. I called upon Mr. S.
to produce one of the Fathers, previous to St. Austin or Augustine
that ever defended or believed in predestination. There were
Irenæus, Ignatius, Polycarp, Basil, Simeon, St. Ambrose, Justin, Tertullian,
Flavius, Clemens, Origen, Gregory, etc., none of them received
it nor understood the apostles to mean it in the Calvinistic sense.
This he did not deny, but, insisted that St. Paul wrote strongly upon
it. I contended that St. Paul opposed the notion of unconditional
election and reprobation, particularly in the ninth chapter to the
Romans, when he was vindicating the goodness and universal love
of God to mankind in calling the Gentiles as well as the Jews, and
in offering mercy to both Jews and Gentiles, which was contrary to
the Jewish notion of things, who thought themselves to be the elect
and the Gentiles to be reprobates or accursed. St. Paul is oversetting
this by a series of arguments, and showing, in a wise and deep
manner, that the Gentiles were included according to God's purpose
of predestination, which was not unconditional, as well as the Jews;
so that both the one and the other might receive of that mercy which
God showeth freely to all who accept it upon the Gospel terms. The
old gentle man could not overset this observation, and therefore it
stood that St. Paul was of my opinion, and that I held his doctrines
and principles. ** Cooper's Diary.

On Sunday, September 1, Mr. Cooper preached in Salem,
in the Rev. Mr. Hopkins's meeting-house, three
times; and though the citizens heretofore had so acted
as to cause Bishop Asbury to decline to visit them, they
seemed now to be in a better mood for hearing, and
formed large congregations. Mr. Cooper was greeted
here by Mr. Edward Johnson's, Mrs. Bickford's, Mr.
Need's, Esquire Vann's, Captain Verry's, and other
families.

From Salem he went to New Mills, and on Tuesday,
September 3, formed a class in that town. From
thence he went to Marblehead, preached, and found the
people “open to and fond of the word and means of
grace.” From thence he returned to Lynn, where he
spent the week, leading the class at Wood End, which
met on Wednesday evening, preaching twice on Sunday
and holding prayer-meeting, and meeting the class
which was held every Monday afternoon. It was expected
of the presiding elder that he should assume the
pastorate of the Society at Lynn, and Mr. Cooper did
so, having taken up his abode at Captain Johnson's.
When called off to other parts of the district his place
at Lynn was filled by a preacher from an adjoining
charge; as, for example, he says:

Monday, September 16. I went up to Boston, and let Brother
Thompson come down to Lynn for a week.

Again:

Monday, October 7. This week Brother Rexford came to town,
whom I propose leaving here eight or ten days, while I visit a few
places fifteen or twenty miles round.

During this latter tour, he visited and preached at
Marblehead, Salem, New Mills, Manchester, and
Ipswich Hamlet. The preaching at Manchester was in
the school-house, and at Ipswich Hamlet at Captain
Patcher's. In the latter community a spirit of hostility
was manifested toward the Methodists, of which
Mr. Cooper thus speaks:

Friday, October 18. I dined at Captain Foster's. We have some
warm friends in Manchester, and I feel some encouragement. This
afternoon I rode to Ipswich Hamlet, and preached, by candle-light,
at Captain Patcher's, to a full congregation of attentive hearers; but
I felt uncomfortable in mind, and very weak in faith while preaching.
The family was kind unto me, and show a disposition of friendship
toward the Methodists. But in those parts we have our enemies,
and the standing ministers, I apprehend, are our greatest foes.
They fear the craft is in danger, and if those itinerant men are encouraged,
the salary of many will come down. Nothing makes men
so zealous as trade; so those men, many of them, make a perfect
trade of the ministry, and are more zealous to keep us away than to
get the people converted. I cannot refrain from thinking that they
are like articles set up at vendue—the highest bidder takes them.
Whatever parish gives the greatest offer gives the loudest call,
and they strike themselves off to them; so that they are bought
and sold.

After this excursion two weeks were spent in Lynn,
where, also, on Saturday and Sunday, November 2 and
3, quarterly meeting was held. Five preachers were in
attendance, namely: Messrs. Cooper, Jesse Lee, Thompson,
Hill, and Rexford. It was a season of refreshment
to all, and the spirit of revival gave encouragement to
God's servants. The next week, quarterly meeting for
Needham Circuit—Rev. John Hill, pastor—was begun
in Needham; Saturday, November 9. On Sunday, the
10th, was held the first love-feast that had ever been
in that community. Says Mr. Cooper:

Sunday, November 10. At nine o'clock love-feast began. This
was the first love-feast ever held in Needham. We had friends from
several towns who met together in great love and friendship; but
few of them were ever in a love-feast at all before. The Lord was
very good and present. Almost every heart was touched and melted
into tenderness. And though the friends are all young in the way,
Yet they spoke very freely of their exercises and experience. I don't
know that I have been in a better love-feast for a year past.

Needham Circuit was, at this time, made up of the
following appointments, namely: Weston, at William
Boyle's; Waltham Plains, at Mr. Travers's; West Waltham,
at Mr. Bemis's; Firmingham, at Mr. Stone's;
Milford, at Mr. Ball's; and Holleston, at Mr. Cutler's.

The next quarterly meeting was held at Easton, on
Warren Circuit, the Rev. Philip Wager being the pastor.
In going thither Mr. Cooper and Mr. Hill joined
him at Mrs. Blanchard's, who lived in Mansfield. Of
the reception by his hostess he thus speaks:

Poor Mrs. Blanchard was so rejoiced at having three preachers at
her house that she shouted for joy, and praised and gave glory to
God aloud. I hardly ever saw a person or persons so carried out
with ecstasy at having preachers call upon them. “O,” said she,
“glory, glory be to God! O praise the Lord for sending his servants
along! The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. I have
hay, oats, corn, and provender enough for your horses, and this house
I want to be the house of the Lord.”

The next day, Thursday, November 21, the company
of preachers moved forward to Easton, where, at Mrs.
Newland's, meeting was held in the afternoon. Here
they spent the night, and the next day went to Mr.
Goward's, where they were joined by their brethren
Kendall and Mudge. On Saturday the quarterly meeting
began; the opening sermon was preached by Mr.
Hill, and on Sunday Mr. Cooper preached in the morning;
then Mr. Kendall; after which the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper was administered. Then followed a short
course by Mr. Cooper upon Methodism, love-feasts,
etc., and the quarterly meeting was closed. Warren,
Circuit had within its lines, besides Easton and Warren,
Rehoboth, which was connected therewith during Mr.
Cooper's charge of the district; Mansfield; Bristol,
where, on Sunday, December 1, 1793, the ordinances of
Baptism and the Lord's Supper were for the first time,
administered by the Methodists; Newport, Providence,
Cranston, Pawtuxet, and Warwick. During this visit at
Bristol, it pleased the Lord to call to his home on high
one of their most valued members, a Brother Pearce,
who, says Mr. Cooper, had long sustained a reputable
character in civil and religious life, and was a useful
member of either society.

After officiating at the funeral of this deceased brother
Mr. Cooper went forward to Greenwich Circuit, then
under the ministerial supervision of Rev. David P. Kendall,
assisted by Rev. Enoch Mudge. While on this circuit
he preached at Wickford, or, otherwise, Newtown,
at Judge Philips's. The Judge he found to be a friendly
man, and so much attached to the Methodists that
he proposed to contribute as much as or more than any
other man for the building of a Methodist church in
Wickford. Thence he went forward to Greenwich and
to Cranston, where he preached on Sunday, December
8; and on the following Wednesday at Mr. Oliver
Buckland's, in Pawtuxet; and the next day at Mr. Campbell's,
in Raynham. Among those at and near Raynham
who indorsed the Methodist movement were Colonel
Leonard, the high sheriff of that county, with his
wife and daughters; Mr. S. Williams and family, where
was a stated service in connection with that circuit
(Warren); Mr. Starr, living near Easton; and Mr.
Stokes, Mr. Churchill in Bridgewater, and Mr. Monk.

While to Mr. Cooper the charge of the society at
Lynn had been committed, the circuit outside of the
town was called Lynn Circuit, and was under the pastoral
supervision of Rev. Jordan Rexford. One of
its chief appointments was Marblehead, which is thus
spoken of by Mr. Cooper:

Monday, December 23. I rode to Marblehead and I met Brother
Rexford. At night I preached to a large congregation of attentive
hearers. Here is a good prospect. Blessed be God! I hope that
this town will yet be flaming with religion.

Tuesday, 24. I dined today at Mr. Bootman's, in company with
Brother Rexford and one or two others. One simple man was there
who wanted to dispute about the ordinance of baptism, but he exposed
his folly in introducing a controversy which he knew little or
nothing about. It is strange that men cannot be more sensible of
their ignorance, and not so fondly engage upon subjects which they
know so little about. He went away, I believe, ashamed. A gentleman
there told him he was surprised to hear a man like him attempt
to dispute upon such points. I drank tea at Colonel Bootman's. To-day
I visited several families with satisfaction. At night we had
prayer-meeting at Mrs. Barker's. The house was crowded, and we
truly had a blessed time. The Lord moved upon us; almost every
heart was melted. I then took rest at Mr. Prentice's, the place where
the preacher boards in town.

Wednesday, 25. When I arose in the morning I felt poorly; but
was thankful to the Lord for the privilege of another anniversary of
our Lord's birth. At eleven o'clock I preached from Luke ii, 10, 11.
We had a large and attentive concourse of people. The Lord deigned
to be present, and many hearts were melted before him. At three
o'clock we assembled again; I then preached from Acts iii, 22, 23.
Our congregation was larger than in the forenoon. The Lord was
present again, and the people seemed unwilling to leave the house,
and numbers stayed till the evening meeting began. At night our
meeting-house was much crowded; we had, I suppose, six hundred
or more hearers. Brother Rexford preached with much life and zeal.
I then read the Rules of our Societies, and commented upon the same;
which, I understand, the people were well satisfied with. I then gave
a lengthy exhortation by way of remarking upon the day called
Christmas, and the proper mode of observing the day. The people
were all attention. and very still. I believe great good has been done
to-day. The Lord has highly favored us with his presence. Hundreds
felt their hearts and souls affected, and I have no doubt but
that the fruits of this day will appear in days yet to come. One gentleman
came to me, as soon as meeting closed, with tenderness of
heart, and addressed me thus: My dear sir, there never was such
a Christmas spent in the County of Essex. O! This is the very way
to spend the anniversary of our Lord's birth.” **Cooper's Diary.

After this visit to Marblehead Mr. Cooper returned
to Lynn, where he spent the closing days of the old
year, 1793, and the first half of January, 1794. In a
sermon on the subject of the New Year a review of the
past year was made, and, as during that period a number
of persons had died—about fifty in that small town—the
congregation was most warmly urged to prepare
for eternity by a more devoted and earnest life of faith
and godliness. The new year opened here with a development
of some uneasiness among the Methodists as
to the question of the place where their preacher
should board; some being desirous that he should continue
where he was, others that he should remove.
Both parties applied to Mr. Cooper to learn what was his
preference, whether to board at Captain Johnson's or
Mr. Newhall's. He declined to enter into the matter
with them, and the Society, being convened, determined
by a vote on Thursday night, January 9, to remove the
preacher to Mr. Newhall's. By reason of this state of
anxiety he took board at neither of the places mentioned
for two weeks, but visited the friends through town,
breakfasting in one house, dining in another, and supping
in another. The movement was very popular, and
in its execution the families of E. Burrill, Mr. Blaney,
Mr. Fuller, Captain Ramsdell, Mrs. Farrington, D.
Newhall, Dr. Gardner, and others, were visited, and, as
a result, the class-meetings were more fully enjoyed,
the prayer-meetings more largely attended, and the
spirit of brotherly love more powerfully made manifest.
Such was the value of this movement that Mr. Cooper
adopted it in the other parts of his district, and in every
charge made it a point to “visit from house to
house.” Thus he moved in Marblehead, where at the
class-meeting held seven offered to join on probation,
and were received; in Salem, where on Saturday, February
1, at night, he preached, and, in speaking of the
outlook, there, says:

At night I preached in Salem to a small and attentive company. I
live in expectation that there will yet be an opening in this town for
Methodism. For Methodism! What is that? Why, most generally,
the doctrine of free will and of free grace to and for all who will
accept the offers of mercy, together with the doctrine of faith and
good works, that is, practical and experimental religion, by a perseverance
in holiness of heart and life to the end, is now called Methodism.
May the Lord prosper it every-where, is my prayer. ** Cooper's Diary.

A brief review of the history of the work on the
district over which Mr. Cooper presided from the 1st
of January, 1794, to the session of the New England
Conference for that year is now presented to the
reader. Boston, in the early part of February, seemed
to be much “at a stand,” with her small Society; and
the members were derided with charges of association
with Beverly Allen, who, two years previously, had
been expelled from the Church for misconduct, and
was now guilty of the added crime of killing the sheriff
sent to arrest him for his criminal conduct. The enemies
of the Methodists in Boston so used this event
to the injury of the Society that Mr. Cooper was
led to the following course. Said he, under date of
March 8, 1794:

To-day I had published in the newspaper a certificate showing that
B. Allen, of Georgia, has not been a preacher among us for more
than two years. He, poor man, has, it is said, been guilty of murdering
a Federal marshal, and this is published as being the conduct
of a Methodist preacher. I believe the certificate which I have
published to-day will give satisfaction, so far as to prevent the Methodist
Connection from being reproached for the crime of that poor
apostate man. ** Cooper's Diary.

The growth of the Society was small, only eight
persons having been added thereto during the
Conference year.

Needham Circuit comprised the appointments of
Weston, Waltham, Framingham, Needham, East Sudbury,
and Lincoln. The circuit was cared for by
Messrs. Mansfield, Brown, and Bowgles, of Needham;
Herrington and Cobb, of Weston; Bemis, of Waltham;
and Stone, of Framingham, together with others whose
names will appear below. On Saturday, February 8,
was held at Weston a quarterly meeting for Needham
Circuit, of which the following account is given by
Mr. Cooper:

Saturday, February 8. I dined at Mr. Bowgles', and then rode to
Mr. Herrington's, in Weston, where quarterly, meeting began after
two o'clock. We had a comfortable season. Here I met Brother
Hill, who had lately returned from his northwest tour. He gave
good tidings of a prospect up in several towns which he had visited
sixty or seventy miles off, and wants to visit them again very much,
which I hope he will find it convenient to do.

Sunday 9. Love-feast began at nine o'clock. We had not so refreshing
a time as I have often seen, though numbers professed to
be very happy. At eleven o'clock public preaching began. We held
meeting in the Baptist meeting-house, and administered the sacrament
there also. I believe very few, if any, made any objection.
Upon the whole, I hope this quarterly meeting is profitable, though
not so powerful as the last in this circuit. We, the preachers,
lodged at Mr. Cobb's, who lives nigh the meeting-house, upon the
Hon. Moses Gill's country-seat.

The preaching services at Weston, as seen above,
were in the Baptist church; at East Sudbury they were
held at Mr. Underwood's; at Framingham, at Mr.
Hill's; in Waltham, at the town school-house. Here
there seemed to he a decided religious development
among the people; they were much wrought upon, and
eagerly listened to the word as delivered by the Methodists.
Mr. Gale and his lady were devoted friends to
the cause. The Society at Lincoln held its meetings at
Mr. Parks's, We give the following from Mr. Cooper's
diary:

Wednesday, April 16. At three o'clock I preached in Lincoln, at
Mr. Parks's, to a crowded congregation of attentive hearers. After
preaching, Esquire Adams came and spoke to me, and gave me an
affectionate invitation to come and see him, which I promised to do
when convenient. He pressed a piece of money into my hands to
help me along in bearing my expenses through the world as I travel
on from place to place.

The increase of membership on the circuit, for the
year, had been from fifty to seventy-six.

The third circuit, Lynn, was composed of the following
places for preaching: Lynn, Marblehead, Salem,
New Mills, Manchester, and Ipswich Hamlet. In the
Annual Minutes for 1793 the number of members of
the Church on the circuit was reported to be one hundred
and sixty-six. In 1794 they were given in as being
one hundred and forty-nine, a decrease of seventeen.
As seen above, Lynn is set forth in the said Minutes
twice—first as the appointment of Rev. Jordan Rexford,
and then, as connected with the province of Maine,
under Rev. Jesse Lee, though the number of members
is given only once, and, therefore, includes both
the town itself and the adjacent charges connected
with it in constituting the circuit. We have also shown
that the Methodist Episcopal Church in the town of
Lynn was, for the Conference year of 1793, 1794, under
the pastoral charge of the Rev. Ezekiel Cooper, who
boarded there and was also the presiding elder of the
District while Mr. Rexford boarded at Marblehead, and
was pastor of the other part of the circuit.

At Lynn Mr. Cooper had, by the selection of the Society,
his home at Mr. D. Newhall's for the year 1794,
they having met on Thursday night, January 9, and by
vote determined that the preacher should remove from
Captain Johnson's to Mr. Newhall's. Here also was
boarded the preacher who had charge of the Society
while Mr. Cooper was engaged in ministerial duty in
other parts of the district. The ecclesiastical management
of this church, however, was in the hands of Mr.
Cooper solely. Though the Minutes of 1794 give the
name of Rev. Jesse Lee as the pastor, yet he had no
ecclesiastical authority over them, nor did he attempt
its exercise. Such is the importance of the period now
passing under review that the writer has determined to
set forth to the reader the outline of the early history
of Methodism in the town of Lynn, before giving that
of the district.

As may be seen, by reference to Lee's History of the Methodists, the first Methodist sermon was preached in
Lynn on the 14th day of December, 1790. On the 20th
of February, 1791, the first class was formed, consisting
of eight persons. The first Methodist meeting-house
built in Massachusetts was begun at Lynn, on June
14th, 1791, raised on the 21st, and dedicated on the
26th of said month and year. ** See Lee's History of the Methodists, p. 165.
The Annual Conference for New England was held also here for the years 1792,
1793, and 1794.†† Ibid.

The second session of the New England Annual
Conference, held in, Lynn in August, 1793, has been
described in the earlier part of this chapter. The third
session of that body was also holden in this town. Of
this Conference Dr. Stevens says, “we have scarcely any
information,” and then intimates that the session was
inharmonious, and its termination “grateful to Bishop
Asbury's wounded feelings.” The following extract,
from Mr. Cooper's diary, will be read with interest by
those who would have the business of the Conference
made known to them more fully. Says he, under date
of Wednesday, July 23:

This afternoon the bishop and two or three of our elders and three
other preachers, in all eight, came to town ready for Conference. At
night Brother Roberts preached. This day I examined the steward's
book, and discovered a mistake or two, which I had rectified.

Thursday, April 24. We began Conference to-day. Though all the
preachers were not present, yet we could go on with the business.
At night the bishop preached.

Friday, 25. All the preachers of the district being present, we
entered fully into the business of the Conference. Although some
things in this Conference were disagreeable, it was much better than
that of last year. At night Brother Spry preached a very thundering
sermon, which offended some people, who cannot bear any thing but
smooth things.

Saturday, 26. There were a number of country friends at Conference
to whom the time was profitable. This day was appointed for
fasting and prayer in all the Society. At five o'clock in the morning
there was prayer-meeting. At eleven o'clock, according to the appointment
of Conference, it fell on me to preach a sermon on fasting,
which I did, showing the purposes and the manner of holding a fast.
The Lord gave me some freedom, and we had a solemn time. To-day
we finished Conference, excepting the ordinations, and the preachers
prepared for their several stations.

During the time of Conference three or four of the preachers rode
down to Nahant, a kind of island, connected to the mainland by a
beach nearly two miles long, and like a mill-dam, over which the tide
at high water sometimes flows. We rode upon the high part, and
spent some time in viewing creation's wonderful form. The bishop
withdrew some distance from us, and sat down upon a rock alone,
as if in deep reflection upon the stupendous works of God. 'Tis
difficult to describe the extraordinary situation of this place,
but it is one of the curiosities of nature. Lord, 'tis the work of
thy hand!

Sunday, 27. In the forenoon the bishop preached an ordination
sermon. We had a vastly crowded assembly. Soon as sermon was
finished an elder and a deacon were ordained, then the sacrament was
administered. Two sermons were preached in the afternoon. This
has been a fine day, particularly its love-feast, which was held at
eight o'clock A. M. We had a joyful season.

Monday, 28. The bishop and the greater part of the preachers left
town. ** Cooper's Diary.

For several months during the year a malignant fever
had prevailed, and death had entered several homesteads
Among those called to their eternal reward
were Mrs. Ingalls and Mrs. Lewis, choice spirits, loved
by the Church, and honored and respected by the whole
community.

Measures were adopted prior to the session of the
New England Conference in Lynn, in 1794, for the finishing
of the church, which had been erected three
years previously. Says Mr. Cooper, under date of
Monday, July 21, 1794:

To-day we held a Society parish meeting, to conclude upon finishing
the meeting-house, and upon raising£30 as our part toward building
a school-house in the east ward of the townImilest

In addition to the information given in regard to the
“meeting-house,” the reader's attention is probably arrested
by the unusual expression, in Methodist circles, of
a “Society parish meeting.” It seems to the writer to
refer not only to the society in Lynn, but also to that
of the Methodists in the adjoining towns of Woodend,
Gravesend, Swampscott, and other places contiguous,
as may be shown in the following extract from Mr.
Cooper's Journal:

Monday, July 14. I set out upon visiting the friends, and propose
visiting all the week, so that I may get through the Society this week.
Met class at five o'clock P. M. Lodged at Mr. Eben Burrill's, about
two miles from my boarding-place.

Thursday, 15. This forenoon I crossed the hills to the Farms, and
then returned over the hills by Swampscott, where I visited four
families. Then I returned to Woodend; met a class at five, and
another at eight o'clock P. M.; lodged at Mrs. Sye's, where I met
the classes.

Wednesday, July 16, 1794. To-day I visited at Gravesend, from
house to house, for seven or eight families. As I returned went
round by Deacon Farrington's, where I drank tea in company with a
number of ladies who were upon a visit at the Deacon's, two of whom
I never had the pleasure of knowing before. We spent an agreeable
afternoon, though, in the midst of so sociable a company, and while I
was considerably cheerful and free in conversation, I felt an anguish
in my poor heart which none of them, I suppose, apprehended.
There is such a thing as to sorrow and be cheerful, too, when among
friends. At night I met class at friend Johnson's. We had a lively
time. I felt some comfort among them. I don't know that I have
been more happy for a long time.

Thursday, 17. I still pursued my visiting. Met class in the chapel
at three o'clock, and preached at night.

Friday, 18. I walked and visited the people so much that I was
quite tired before night. At five o'clock I attended a funeral, and
afterward paid a short visit to three families, the last of which was at
friend Pratt's, where I stayed all night.

Saturday, 19. I went on visiting. I called upon ten or twelve
before four o'clock, at which hour I met the children. Afterward I
called at two or three places, and then retired home. This has been
a fatiguing week to my body and mind.

It will be seen, by reference to the Minutes of the Several Annual Conferences for the year 1794, that
Mr. Cooper was appointed to take his station in New
York; but, for some reason, he did not engage in the
work there for several months, but continued in New
England, and exercised pastoral authority over the
Church in Lynn and vicinity. In referring to it in his
diary, under date of August 8, he says:

I am appointed to New York, where I am to go in September or
October.

He retained his pastorate over the Society in Lynn
until the 6th day of October, when, he says:

Monday, October 6. I took my leave of Lynn. I have been
preaching, off and on, in that town for more than a year and a
half. ** Cooper's Diary.

There is given us, by reason of this unusual course of
procedure on the part of the appointing authority of the
Church, additional information as respects the state of
the Methodists of this town.

The Rev. Jesse Lee having taken charge of the
district over which he had formerly presided, Mr.
Cooper, on Tuesday evening, July 29, held a meeting
of the leaders and stewards of the Lynn Society, and
conversed at length with them “upon points of moment
relative to their conduct, and the Society in general.”
On Tuesday, August 19, he met two classes, and turned
out of Society four members who, for some time, had
habitually neglected their class-meeting. On Thursday,
the 28th of said month, he says:

To day brother Thompson came to town and preached for me at
night. Through the day I passed among the friends as usual, met
one class, etc. There is more than a class for every day, besides visiting
and preaching and other duties which take up a preacher's time
pretty constantly.

The Methodists of Lynn about this time were
sought after by the Episcopalians, as the following
will show. Says Mr. Cooper, under date of September 4:

Friend Johnson this evening showed me a copy of the letter of
invitation from the minister and church of the old parish, inviting
our people to come and join them, which friend Johnson quite smiles
at, and has some thought of returning the compliment, were it not
that the greater part of that Church we would not have unless they
first reformed from what they are. So that we could not invite them
sincerely in their present condition.

The “compliment” was not returned, but Mr. Cooper
found, on visiting his members, that the committee of
invitation had personally visited his members, but
found only two in the charge willing to separate from
the Methodist Episcopal Church in Lynn and return to
their first love.

In addition to this opposition, Mr. Cooper had given
offense to a deist who had heard him preach, and who
threatened him with a letter of reproof for the views he
had set forth in the sermon. The theme of the discourse
was “The Excellency of the Scriptures,” which
Mr. Cooper discussed,

1. As a book of information, being (a), the most ancient and rational
account of the origin of the universe; (b) of the creation of man;
(c) of the perfections and properties of Deity; (d) of man's fall by sin,
and rise by grace; (e) of the duties of man in moral and religious
life; (f) of immortality, future rewards and punishments; (g) of judgment,
etc.

2. Their great benefit to human society. For where the Scriptures
are, we find, (a) the greater light and knowledge; (b) the greater improvement
in art and science. We see also, (c) their effect upon
the judgment, conscience, and conduct of those who read and believe
them.

3. Directions and application given.

The deist, after hearing the sermon, said the speaker
was a “fluent, tonguy person, but like others was mistaken.”

Mr. Cooper requested his informant to encourage the
deist to write as he threatened. He did it not.

While there was opposition both ecclesiastical and
personal, other Churches also were affected by internal
strifes, which led to separations, and in some instances
to an indorsement of the Methodist movement. For instance,
at Waltham, on Monday afternoon, a town meeting
was held in the church of the “standing order,” to
determine upon the question of raising the preacher's
salary. The opposition was so great that the salary
was voted to be increased only by a majority of one
vote. Mr. Cooper was passing by the church just as the
meeting was “breaking up.” A gentleman coming out
requested to have a little talk with him. It was granted.
Whereupon he informed him concerning the meeting;
accused his pastor of preaching for money; said that
he would pay no more money, but would come and
hear the Methodists, and would give $100 to aid in
building a church for them. There was much murmuring
among the people, and the next day they attended
in large numbers the services of the Methodists,
held in the school-house, and ministered by Mr.
Cooper. Many of them heretofore had refused to hear
a Methodist preacher.

The time was now drawing near when Mr. Cooper
was to leave the district over which he had presided,
and to take a station in New York. This had been
determined in the session of the Lynn Conference held
July 24-27, where it was also arranged that he should
remain in charge of the district until September or
October. He was now, for the most part, making his
last tour through his district, accompanied, in several
instances, by Rev. Jesse Lee, who had been appointed
to be his successor. Though there had been in the
past some estrangement between these two Ministers,
they were now in unity and harmony with each other.
Of this Mr. Cooper speaks as follows:

Thursday, October 2. I returned to Lynn, where I met Brother
Lee, who had got back from his western tour. He and I were quite
comfortable together. Although there was a great trial between us
some time ago, yet now we are as friendly as ever, having made up
our difference. I think he is as near to me as ever he was. All
things are passed over and laid aside.

While preparing for his departure to New York
Mr. Cooper received the following valuable letter from
Bishop Asbury:

Lord's Day, September 28, 1794. New York.MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

I am now satisfied that you should
take your stand here till further orders. It is my wish that you
should keep a Conference with the preachers in this city, stationed and
supernumeraries. It is my desire that once in five or six weeks each
one of you should spend a Sabbath in Brooklyn. Brother Phoebus
has heard my mind. I want quarterly-meetings to he held at each
of the three houses, first at one and then at another. Meet the first
day, and the following day call the leaders and stewards in conference—close conference about the work of God and their souls, the
order and harmony of the Societies, and their temporal supplies.
Have a love-feast for all of the Societies. Let me hear from you, and
you shall hear from me. I have been greatly employed preaching
three times this day; am going off early tomorrow morning.

Thine in love,FRANCIS ASBURY.I give it as my real opinion, that you should have no open love-feast.
Attend to this.F. ASBURY.

This letter was written a few days after the session
of the New York Annual Conference, which was begun
in New York, September 22, 1794. It was an appointment
of Mr. Cooper to the charge of New York and
Brooklyn as chief pastor, and as we shall subsequently
find, to the presiding eldership of this circuit, and of
Croton and New Rochelle, and Long Island. By order
of that Conference, Sylvester Hutchinson and Robert
Hutchinson, the former being in charge of Croton
and New Rochelle, and the latter in charge of Long
Island Circuit, were to change with Lawrence McCombs
every three months. ** Minutes, 1794, 1st edition.

Mr. Cooper, though separating from the dearest
friends of his ministerial life, to one of whom he had
become affianced, obeyed the summons, and in a few
weeks after receiving the above letter took his station
in New York, according to appointment.

CHAPTER X.
METHODISM IN NEW YORK AND VICINITY, 1794, 1795.

As in the preceding chapter there were given, so in
this are given, historical facts which throw light upon
matters that have been occult, supplying some of the
broken links that are apparent in the recitals of our most
eminent Church historians, and correcting some statements
made by them by reason of their want of exact
knowledge of that age of the Church. Of these misstatements
one demands correction now because of the
facts given in the letter of Bishop Asbury and of the
Conference Minutes of that date. Both Bishop Simpson
and Dr. Abel Stevens, in their highly valuable, and, for
the most part, accurate sketches of Methodism in its
ecclesiastical and personal development, give to the
reader of their biography of Ezekiel Cooper the impression
that Brooklyn and New York was the field of his
labor, after he left New England. It will he seen, however,
that Brooklyn was to be visited by the New York
pastors only once on the Sabbath day in five or six weeks;
while the two churches in the city were to have a sermon
twice every Sabbath. New York was Mr. Cooper's special
field of labor, and not Brooklyn. Besides the effective
ministers appointed to this charge in 1794, there
were supernumerary or located preachers, resident in
New York or the village of Brooklyn, Jacob Brush,
David P. Candall, and William Phoebus, M.D. These,
we shall see, were co-workers with the stationed preachers
in preaching the Gospel and upbuilding the Church.

Mr. Cooper arrived in the city of New York on the
29th of October, and entered at once upon his pastoral
duties, though his heart was overwhelmed with grief on
account of the death of his mother, the tidings of which
sad event had reached him that day. To show the state
of the Society in New York at this time, the following
extracts are given from his Journal:

This evening (October 29) I attended prayer-meeting in the city
among our friends. My old acquaintances appeared glad to see me,
and I was glad to see them. Though in the midst of sorrow, I can
yet feel some gladness of heart. Here I fell in with the preachers,
with whom I feel friendship and love.

Thursday, 30. I visited a few friends. At night we had a meeting
of the stewards and leaders to consult upon the best method of
carrying out our religious economy for the preservation and promotion
of piety among us, and the enforcing of discipline. We had
some debates, which I did not like so well; there appeared too
great an inclination to opposition by some, and not enough inquiry
after the most eligible methods. When men seem inclined to
oppose each other more than to give or receive information. it makes
me feel disagreeable; and when any betray an air of self importance
it hurts me. A childlike humility should attend us in all our
counsels.

Friday, 31. At night I preached to a large congregation in the old
church; felt some considerable liberty and many hearts were touched
a little more and we would have had a shout—some did lift up their
voice aloud. The Lord moved upon us.

Saturday, November 1. To-day I dined with a large company at
Mr McKenness's, a British agent, in this city. Here I was in company
with three or four gentlemen who were opposed to the French
in their present contest with England. We, in consequence, had
some opposition to each other in the company. The Rev. Mr. Pilmore
was among us, and this is the first time I ever saw him. He is a celebrated
preacher, but not so agreeable in company; there is in him
an assuming, overbearing manner which renders him rather disagreeable.
Two other of our preachers were in company, and several ladies.
After politics were dwelt upon awhile, we turned the subject
upon religion, on which we continued till we parted. It was laid
upon me to pray, so we joined in fellowship and prayer and parted.

Sunday, November 2. I preached in the old church in the forenoon,
and administered the sacrament to three or four hundred people.
In the afternoon I preached in the new church. In the evening,
after preaching in the old church by Brother McCombs, there
broke out a powerful work among the people; a shout lasted till near
eleven o'clock. O may this be the beginning of a great and glorious
work. All this week I spent in York. I was looking around and
seeing how matters were in Society. The Society is large, and, for
some time past, has been dull in religion. The last year, it seems, they
have lost more than a hundred members; but they appear to be encouraged
that a revival will take place.

The membership in the two churches in New York,
as reported in the Minutes of 1794, numbered, “whites,
575; blacks, 135. The previous year they were reported
to be: whites, 639; blacks, 154, showing, as by the Minutes,
a loss of 83. This, according to Mr. Cooper's
showing, was increased after the close of the Conference
session. During the Conference year of 1794-95, the
number was again increased, and the report for that
year was: whites, 600; blacks, 155, showing an increase
of 55. The number of members in Brooklyn was not
reported separately until 1795; and though they had
built a church, to which Bishop Asbury referred in the
letter given in the last chapter, saying that he wanted
“quarterly meeting to be held in each of the three
houses,” namely, two in New York and one in Brooklyn,
the membership was numerically small, having, in the
Minutes of 1795, the number of whites, 23; blacks, 12.
We continue Mr. Cooper's Journal:

Tuesday, November 4. I preached at night to a large congregation.

Wednesday, 5. I rode out with Mr. Ellis a few miles in his carriage.
Dined at Mr. Fosbrooks. At night had prayer-meeting.

Thursday, I accompanied Brother Garrettson through town.
We dined at Mr. Vanderliff's; then visited lawyer Livingston, with
whom we stayed awhile; went to Mr. John Livingston's and drank
tea. Although it may be deemed honorable and be pleasing to some
to move in so high a circle as those great men, yet I can say there is
more happiness where there is more simplicity, in a lower circle.

Sunday, 9. In the forenoon I preached in the new Church; we
gave the sacrament to two or three hundred. We had a lively time.
I dined at friend Bleecker's. At night I preached to a crowded concourse
of people in the old church.

Having gained a knowledge of the state of his charge,
Mr. Cooper left New York on the 10th of November,
and visited his bereaved relatives in Maryland, where,
on the 1st day of December, he, with his brothers, sisters,
and other relatives, attended the funeral of his
mother.

He returned to New York on the 21st day of December.
It was Sunday; and, not having time to take
breakfast, he hastened to church and preached the
morning sermon. After dinner he preached again, and
in the evening “had a comfortable time in meeting the
Society.” The three months' appointment of Rev. Lawrence
McCombs having expired, he had now gone to his
appointment on New Rochelle Circuit, and the Rev.
Sylvester Hutchinson, late of that circuit, had become
his successor in New York. With his new colleague
pastoral work was resumed by Mr. Cooper, and thus an
introduction given to all under their ministrations.

As Dr. Wakeley has beautifully shown in his Lost
Chapters, etc., the New York Methodists were, in the
early days of the Church, noted for their generosity to
and filial regard for the Methodist preachers; and he has,
in his recital of the story, brought forth the names and
Christian characters of laymen who otherwise would
have been unknown to succeeding generations. It is
the privilege of the writer to add to that list. Read
the following from Mr. Cooper's Journal:

Wednesday, December 24. I attended the funeral of Mrs. Gray, an
old widow lady of this place. She has left the principal part of her
fortune to be distributed among the Methodist preachers. There
were four ministers who attended. Among the ministers, doctors,
and pall-bearers, there were fourteen scarfs, three and a half yards of
linen in each pall, which made forty-nine yards of fine linen, besides
gloves, distributed. In the evening I preached a funeral sermon on
the occasion of her death.

To show how the Methodists observed Christmas
day in New York at this time, we have the following:

Thursday, 25, was Christmas. Another anniversary of our Lord's
birth I have lived to see. We had the sacrament in both churches,
and three sermons preached in each. I lament that men so generally
make Christmas a day of frolicking instead of worship. We, however,
had a comfortable day in our churches.

Friday, 26. I visited several friends. In the evening, after sermon,
we had a friend tried before the leaders and stewards; but he
was acquitted of the charge, yet was found deserving of reproof,
which I gave him.

On the following day the child of Mr. Craft, one of
the representative members of Methodism in the city,
was buried. The next day, after evening preaching,
a Mr. Vanskirke came to Mr. Cooper, with tears in his
eyes, telling him that he lived above Albany, in the
Mohawk wilderness, where they had but little of the
Gospel, and implored an interest in his prayers. On
Monday evening the “select bands” were met; on
Tuesday Mr. Hutchinson preached his first sermon;
and on Wednesday, the last day of the year 1794,
a watchnight service was held, beginning at eight
o'clock P.M., and closing at half-past twelve A. M.
Mr. Cooper says of it:

Thus ended the old year, and began the new one in public worship.
I preached from 1 Thess. v, 6; Brothers Phoebus, Hutchinson,
Smith, Valleau, and Brush exhorted. We had a comfortable
time; the Lord was gracious unto us. Nearly five hundred people
stayed till after midnight.

On the 1st day of January, 1795, Mr. Cooper preached
New Year's sermon in the old church, and in the afternoon
went over to Brooklyn and delivered a New
Year's discourse in their new church. On the return
trip the boat in which he had taken passage was
crowded. he says: “as thick as we could stand.” Describing
the crossing he says:

As we passed some sailors in a boat they cried, out, ‘The devil will
have a fine haul if he gets that boat,” meaning us. Somebody in our
company replied to them, that they would stand the worst chance, for
the devil should get all of them were he to come, but could only get
a part in our boat. This introduced a very serious discourse among
us. In the evening we had a precious time in the old church. While
I was in the closing prayer it seemed as if the glory of the Lord filled
the house. Brothers Phoebus, Humbert, and I spoke to the people;
Brother Hutchinson prayed once.

Another instance of Christian liberality is here presented
to the reader. Under date of January 2, 1795,
Mr. Cooper says:

Mr. McKenniss called to see me one day and gave me forty shilling
to distribute to the poor. He is the British agent here, who has
charge of the packet; he receives and forwards all the dispatches to
and from the British Government and the United States.

On the day following he began the distribution, the
first being made to Mr. Crum and family, where God
met the pastor and the family in a gracious manner
while they were at prayer. Among the members of
the Methodist Society in New York at that time were,
in addition to those already mentioned: Messrs. Young,
Jones, Mitchell, Coddington, Anderson, Valleau, Bowen,
Miller, Dunnevan, Kip, Campbell, West, John Brower,
Bull, Fosbrook, Staples, Dr. Wainwright, Sharock,
Vanderbilt.

It had been arranged by the Society in the city for
the holding of the sacrament of the Lord's supper on
the first Sabbath in each month, in the morning at the
old church and in the afternoon at the new church;
and in the evening of the same day was “a meeting of
the Society at large,” where those who could not attend
the sacrament either in the morning or afternoon
were privileged to receive it at the close of the Society
meeting.

On Tuesday, January 6, says Mr. Cooper:

This is a day set apart by the various denominations to hold what
they call a concert of prayer; namely, for all who will join of every
denomination to unite in prayer for the outpouring of the Spirit of
the Lord upon the world. They propose setting apart four
days in the year for the purpose, and begin with the first Tuesday
in January, and to continue it the first Tuesday in each quarter
of the year. We have joined them. At two o'clock we assembled
in each church for prayer. At night I preached upon the subject of
prayer; the Lord assisted me. We had a comfortable time.

In order to do his pastoral work the more efficiently,
it was a custom with Mr. Cooper to be with his members
daily at their family table one after another, as
the following will show. Says he, under date of
February 1:

I have not been regular with my diary for two weeks and more.
Those two weeks past I have visited many of our friends; have
breakfasted, dined, or drank tea with upwards of twenty different
families, besides other visiting, the poor, the sick, etc. I generally
take breakfast, dinner, or tea from home every day, excepting Sabbath,
and sometimes all three from home. A preacher's charge, in
York, is great.

During the week through which he was now passing
he received a letter from Bishop Asbury, which, he says,
gave him “great and trying exercises of mind.” The
letter will explain itself. It is as follows:

CHARLESTON, January 2, 1795.MY DEAR BROTHER:

I am, by the good and always kind providence
of God, brought safe to this city in peace, but a little unwell by
hard travelling and changes. Serious things have taken place here.
Brother Hughes is dead, Captain Darrall and William Adams drowned.
We creep along, with an increase of hearers and members. Some
wandering stars appear and shine a little in the new Trinity. We
pay our debts, and go on fair and easy. I must say, every time I visit
Charleston my feelings are better, and I hope there is some fruit of
my toil.

I should be much obliged to you, to favor me with your former
kindness in letters. Any thing that is of moment for me to know,
especially from the eastward, that comes to your knowledge. Charleston,
Holston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston or Hartford, are
good points to meet me at with letters.

I am in hopes that something valuable will take place in York in
the year 1795. Your attention ought to he paid to Discipline, and
visiting from house to house, but not to eat and drink. I am pointedly
against that. You have a house to eat in; you need not go to
the feast with the Church of God. We ought to visit as doctors, or as
persons to plead for cause of their souls; not as guests, to eat and
drink, but as divines for souls. I am convinced it is and will be an
evil. We have had few city preachers but what have been spoiled
for a poor man's preacher. That is a truth we can awfully substantiate.
What persons and times are past and gone, let them go. I
trust your soul is more engaged with God than ever, and you will
send me good news of the spiritual affairs of the Society; as to the
temporal matters, these grow fast enough.

Cokesbury is out of blast, and let it go; we were great too soon.
My ten years' dread is over; I shall leave the world and my charge
shortly. Excuse my not writing a longer letter. I have many to write.

I am thine as ever,F. ASBURY.

It was a custom with the New York Methodists to
have a care for the spiritual interests of the prisoners
in the City Jail. They had preaching regularly, once a
month, on Friday, and such other spiritual counsel as is
connected with a faithful pastorate. To give one of
the many instances recorded by Mr. Cooper, take the
following from his journal:

Friday, February 6. I visited the prisoners, carried a Bible and
hymn-books with me, which I gave to such as I thought would use
them to advantage. I went to see the poor criminals; there are
three under sentence of death; they were much affected while
Brother Hutchinson and I talked and prayed with them, and desired
that we would come again.

The following is given to illustrate the interest taken
by the Methodists of the city in national thanksgiving.
Under date of February 19, Mr. Cooper says:

This was Thanksgiving Day throughout the United States, appointed
by the president. We had public worship, the same as on the Sabbath,
three times. In the forenoon I preached upon the occasion,
showing the many signal mercies which the Lord had bestowed upon
us as a people which called for our thanksgiving, and wherein an
acceptable thanksgiving doth consist. The Lord favored us with
much of his presence; great power rested upon us, which was melting
to our hearts; and, I believe, the congregation felt grateful to the
Lord for the benefits of providence toward them as individuals, and
to the land in which we live in general. One person wrote me a
letter, disapproving of my preaching at all on politics, which I touched
upon considerably. But I feel a clear conscience; I did no more than
my duty upon such an occasion. Surely to repeat our preservation
from war, our constitutions of government, internal tranquillity, the
prosperity and growing condition of our country, together with the
grounds of all those mercies under God, cannot be amiss on a day appointed
for thanksgiving. Nay, I should hardly have done my duty
to have neglected them. But I cannot learn that more than one was
dissatisfied. Many wanted the sermon printed, to which I almost
agreed.

Mr. Cooper was now but thirty-two years old; yet
such was the reputation he had won by strict adherence
to the Discipline of his Church and devotion to the
pastorate in its varied forms of labor that he was regarded
as a safe adviser by his bishop, a father by
the younger clergy of his Church, and an able minister
of the Gospel by those even who rejected its truths.
Though quotations from the record of his personal history
have been elaborate, it is due to the Church of his
choice and the descendants of his family line still further
to make known the personal history of one of the
most excellent of our ecclesiastical fathers, about whom
little is really known. On the 22d day of February,
1795, then being thirty-two years old, he received an
invitation from a company of New York deists to
preach for them a sermon. They gave the text; it
was: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no,
not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but
the Father.” Mark xiii, 32. The letter asking the
favor was so civil and candid in its tone and manner,
that Mr. Cooper consented to grant their request. He
thus speaks of it:

I agreed to take the text, and found an unexpected liberty while
preaching. I am informed that good was done; the faith of numbers
strengthened. But I do not hear that one deist was convinced.
However, I received a letter of thanks from the deists acknowledging,
“that my arguments upon the subject were equal to any they,
had heard advanced by any one, and superior to any they had seen
among the writers against Thomas Paine's Age of Reason.” I thought,
though, that I had been quite successful in so far gaining upon them
(more so than I really expected), but still they were not convinced.

As Thanksgiving-day was observed by preaching—morning, afternoon and evening—so also was the general
fast day throughout the Methodist Connection
observed in the New York churches of that denomination
on Friday, February 27.

The three months' service of Rev. S. Hutchinson was
now drawing near its close, and Rev. Lawrence
McCombs, his predecessor, was by appointment to return
to the city churches for another three months'
term of ministerial duty. He desired, if admissible, to
remain in the country, and wrote to that effect to Mr.
Cooper. Mr. McCombs's future prominence in the
Church demands that this letter be presented to the
reader. It has not before this appeared in the public
print. It is as follows:

WHITE PLAINS, March 2, 1795.VERY DEAR BROTHER:

I have wanted to open my mind to you for
some time, and did send to you by Brother Hutchinson to the same
purport, but now undertake to inform you by letter. Since I have
been traveling I have sustained considerable loss; therefore I am
resolute to take care of what little I have, unless taking care should
interfere with my appointment. But I would sustain considerable
loss before I would neglect my regular appointment, given me by the
bishop. But I suppose I ought to attend as much to the appointment
in the country as in the city; and as considerable difficulty
presents itself to view, I think it not expedient for me to come and
stay in the city until the expiration of three months more, unless
those difficulties can be removed. I believe I have no choice with
regard to any appointment to preach given me by the bishop. I will
state the matter:

1. The bishop has given me my appointment both in town and
country; and unless you will stand between me and the bishop at
Conference, I think I ought to fulfill my appointment and stand for
myself.

2. My creature [horse] cannot be kept without considerable expense,
therefore I do not think it fair play for me to be at such expense,
when it is not my turn in town; but if the brethren in
York are willing to pay for its keeping, I will come to York as
freely as I would go anywhere. If not, I would rather stay in the
country. But to be obedient to you I will as far as is consistent with
the nature of things.

I would not have you to think I am in the least worried, from the
manner in which I have written; it is only because of my wish to
do right. I shall expect to receive a line from you on the subject at
the first opportunity. My soul is in some degree engaged with my
God, and I want it to be entirely my meat and drink to do his will.
I feel some oppositions, from different quarters, to prevent my progress
in religion; but I feel resolute to do the will of God as far as I
am able; yet I find that I am short in my conceptions, and extensive
in my ideas, and my understanding wants much clearing; and I
know that to God I must go for all that I lack; but O! the slowness
of my movements in things of a religious nature. Remember me to
inquiring friends.

I am still, as ever, your son in the undivided
Gospel of Jesus Christ.LAWRENCE MCCOMBS.

Mr. McCombs did not succeed in his petition, but,
as will be seen, was again employed with Mr. Cooper
in serving the churches in New York and Brooklyn.
The election of trustees for the church in New York
occurred soon after this, as will appear from the following
extract from Mr. Cooper's journal:

Monday, March 16. This day we had our election for trustees in
the church. Assembled at eleven and finished at one o'clock.
There, was the greatest election ever known upon the occasion at
any time whatever before. There was a perfect party piece of work,
one for putting out the old members, and the other for keeping them in.
The contention rose so high that I was much grieved. I thought
that some were quite out of a religious line of conduct. The election
caused great uneasiness in the Society; unfriendly things were said
of each other, which I feared would be a means of getting some of
them out of the Society. However, we settled matters tolerably well.
The old trustees were continued in office.

On Sunday, March 22, Mr. Cooper, after preaching in
the morning in the city, went to Brooklyn, where he
spent the afternoon and evening, preaching on both
occasions. In the afternoon he, with Dr. Phoebus,
held a love-feast that was enjoyed by many of the
New York Methodists who had accompanied them.
The evening being rainy, but few attended church. Of
Brooklyn's inhabitants he thus speaks:

The people in this village appear very careless about religion,
though they have had much preaching. We have a clever preaching
house built and a small Society.

It will give pleasure and instruction to the reader to
have the contents of a letter from Dr. Thomas Coke
now set before him. Though it is long, yet its matter
is too valuable to permit us to lose a sentence.
Its style is different from that used by educated men
of the present generation, but it is presented as a true
copy of the original from the bishop's pen. We read:

IRELAND, April 23, 1795.MY DEAR BROTHER:

I embrace an opportunity of writing to you a
few lines. Though a multiplicity of business in respect to the Churches
and the press engrosses the greatest part of my time, I do not forget
my American brethren, but frequently have them before me in meditation
and prayer; frequently your pine-trees, and oaks, and dogwood,
and red-flower, etc., are before my eyes, and the congregations in
your forests, among whom I have been so much blessed.

Blessed be God, I am not without my great comforts, in ministerial
respects, in these kingdoms. The last year was the greatest Methodism
has ever known in Europe. The flame does not burn so strong the
present year in some particular parts, but it is far more extensive in
its operations, so that I have good hopes that the increase of vital
religion will, on the whole, be as great the present year as the last.

In the West Indies we go on rapidly, blessed be God, in spite of
war and pestilence; about nine thousand of the Negroes are members
of our Society, and much in earnest. But the yellow fever has swept
off four of our most useful preachers in about twelve months. Six
missionaries have been sent over in that time and the work goes on.
We have missions in nine of the islands; and no outward attack or
inward insurrection has been known in any one of them since the
establishment of our missions. So wonderfully are we protected
by the providence of God. At Sierra Leone, in Africa, four hundred
of the Nova Scotia Negroes are members of our Society, and one of
the natives. We are going to plant a colony of Methodists in the
interior parts of Africa, about five hundred miles from the coast,
among a people lately discovered, who are mild, peaceable, and when
compared to the Africans on the coast tolerably civilized. The Lord
has not yet been pleased to open our way to the East Indies; but we
wait his good time.

O my brother, labor to stir up our dear American brethren who are
children of God to go on to perfection. Let them expect and pray
for the universal reign of Christ; the time is hastening on when all
the world shall bow the knee to Jesus; great, very great, are the calamities
which Europe now suffers; but all is intended by the governor
of the Church to pull Anti-christ from his throne, and to usher
in the great millennium.

I am just beginning my tour through Ireland. As far as I have
gone the Lord has been with his feeble servant, and has favored us
with times of refreshing. Let me hear from you by the first opportunity,
directing to me at the New Chapel, City Road, London.

We should, my dear brother, be exceedingly zealous for the preservation
of all parts of our Discipline; all that is carnal militates against
it; but it is the blessed hedge which, in the hand of God, is the
means of preserving the divine life among us.

I intend, with the help of God, to be in Baltimore by the 20th of
October, in the next year, to meet Brother Asbury and the rest of the
brethren in General Conference; in the meantime remember me in
your prayers, and don't forget to pray for your European brethren in
general.

I am writing a comment on the Bible, and shall begin to print, God
willing, about October next. Whether it will be satisfactory, others
must judge. But I would fain do something for my Lord in that
way.

It gives me great satisfaction that my dear respected Brother
Asbury enjoys good health. You have need to pray much for the
continuance of his life.

I am glad to hear that your district schools are going on prosperously;
may the Lord increase the number of them, and give his
constant blessing to them for the sake of the rising generation.

My dear brother, have great compassion for the poor Negroes, and
do all you can to convert them. If they have religious liberty
their temporal slavery will be comparatively but a small thing. But
even in respect to this latter point I do long for the time when the
Lord will turn their captivity like the rivers of the South, and he will
appear for them; he is winding up the sacred ball; he is sweeping
off the wicked with the besom of destruction, with pestilence, famine,
and war, and will never withdraw his hand till civil and religious
liberty be established all over the earth.

I have no doubt that if the body of Methodist preachers keep close
to God they will be the chief instruments of bringing about this most
desirable state of things. Let us be a praying, preaching, self-denying,
mortified, crucified, zealous set of men (as, blessed be God, is the case
with most of the preachers, more or less, at present), and we shall
carry the world before us. God, even our own God, will give us his
blessing. We shall be polished shafts in his quiver. He will use us as
the ready writer does his pen, and open doors to us for the salvation
of souls which will astonish us.

May the Lord bless you, my dear brother; may he fill you with
faith and the Holy Ghost, and be your exceeding great reward for
ever and ever!

I am your very affectionate friend and brother,T. COKE.

It will at once be seen that the above letter is valuable
in historic matter and affectionate in brotherly
counsel. Bishop Coke was a scholar, a clear and correct
writer of his native language. The paragraph
relative to missions, if read by Bishop Taylor, will be
a spur to him to lay broad and deep the foundation of
the Gospel in the continent of Africa, where his predecessor,
almost a hundred years ago, superintended the
raising of the Gospel banner over Methodist missionaries
who carried the light of sacred truth to that
benighted land.

Another scene is now presented which, though not
ecclesiastical, nor exclusively associated with the Methodist
Society of New York, was regarded by the pastors
of the Methodist Episcopal Church with great
interest. It is a description of “moving-day” in the
city ninety-one years ago. We are indebted to Mr.
Cooper for its development. Says he:

May 1, 1795. This is moving-day in the city of York. Every May
day is a general moving among the tenants. It appears that near, or
quite, one fourth of the people move. If so (and some think more),
well on or upon ten thousand move, taking them little and big; but I
do not think quite so many move. However, it is wonderful to see
the people moving; the streets all day swarmed with them. And
many, I understand, cannot get houses to enter. Poor creatures!
I do not know what they will do. Rents are at an amazing height.
Small rooms rent for £20 or£30, and indifferent houses from £60 to
£100, such as formerly were only £20 or £30. And, after all, numbers
cannot get them, there are so many people in the city. People
from the country have come down, and from France, West Indies,
Nova Scotia, England, Ireland, etc., have crowded this city wonderfully.
Hundreds of new buildings are up, or going up. What were
fields look like a new city.

We now enter into a field of which there has been,
but little historical account as to its early connection
with the Methodist movement in that region; namely,
Long Island Circuit. It first appeared in the Conference
Minutes of 1785, with Ezekiel Cooper, as the preacher.
A year after the number of members on the circuit was
reported as: whites, 146; blacks, 8. It then included
Brooklyn. We have before stated that Mr. Cooper,
according to the Minutes of 1794, was stationed in New
York and Brooklyn, but that he was the presiding elder,
also, of the district in which New York was included.
We shall now follow him in his excursion through Long
Island Circuit, for the performance of the duties of that
office. See the following, from his diary:

Wednesday, May 13. I left the city upon a visit to Long Island,
to go around the circuit, attend quarterly meetings, and see my old
friends. Friend John Brower and his wife, and old Mrs. Kipp and
Brother McCombs went over to Brooklyn with me. We dined at Mr.
Dayrell's. He and his lady are very kind indeed. He is a cousin
of William Pitt, the Prime Minister of England. He came over to
America during the last war, and married here, sold his commission,
and has stayed in this country ever since. But I find he is warmly
attached to Britain yet. In the evening I preached in Brooklyn,
about a mile from the ferry.

Thursday, 14, I rode to Jamaica in company with Brother Van
Nostrand and Dr. Anderson—members in New York. I preached in
the evening with some degree of liberty to a considerable congregation.
Here I began to find some who had heard me nine years ago,
and profess to have then been stirred up to seek after the Lord.

Friday, 15. The Doctor, Bro. Van Nostrand, and I, set out in company,
all being bound to quarterly meeting. We rode to Serringtown,
and dined at Jacob Serring's. This is the first house in this
town that was opened to the Methodist preachers. I preached here
about ten years ago, and formed the first Society. We have now a
church built, in which I preached at four o'clock this afternoon. It
gave me satisfaction to see so many of my old friends. Drank tea at
John Serring's, and lodged at Coe Serring's.

Saturday, 16. We rose early, got breakfast, and started about six
o'clock for Comack. We rode about twenty-four miles or more by
twelve o'clock. Here, at Comack, quarterly meeting began. I
preached from Romans viii, 24. Here I saw many of my old friends,
among whom I labored nine or ten years ago. Many are gone from
time, some are moved to other parts, and others have turned back
from the Lord since then. It was melancholy to think of, that some
who were eminent for piety had turned aside into open sin. The dear
people were glad to see me. In the afternoon I visited several families,
Samuel Brush's and friend Combs's particularly. I put up at
James Hubbs's. In the evening we walked over to see Judge Smith,
at his request. He pressed me to stay all night with him, but my
previous engagement with friend Hubbs prevented.

On his journey to Comack, Mr. Cooper visited a place
that had taken its name from the Indian religion,
Manitou, the name of one of their gods. It was a very
high hill on the Brushy Plains. Though the hill is
quite sandy, yet on the western end thereof he found
“a natural well of water.” He tells us:

This well is, at times, so full that a man may dip the water out
with his hand. It is seldom known to fail, and the water is very
good. The Indians handed down to the white people the following
tradition concerning the well: “On a certain time, in the days of
their forefathers, a number of hunters were in those woods, and no
water could be found. At length, when the hunters were nearly
famished with thirst and could find no water anywhere, one of them
shot up an arrow, and said, 'Where the arrow fell there would be
water.' When the arrow fell it struck in the top of this sandy hill,
and, when they pulled it up, water gushed out at the place, and ever
since there has been a well of fine water.”

Says Mr. Cooper:

It is well known that there are no natural ponds, springs, brooks,
or streams of any kind near this place; and it is with great difficulty
that the people can dig wells so as to have water. There is a
well within less than a half mile of this place, and down in the valley,
too, that is seventy or eighty feet deep; so that I view this to be a
curiosity indeed, and hard to be accounted for.

On Sunday, the 17th, the quarterly meeting exercises
were continued; at half-past eight o'clock love-feast
began; at ten o'clock the Lord's supper was celebrated;
and at eleven o'clock public preaching began. The
congregation to which Mr. Cooper preached at this
hour was said to be the largest ever known at a quarterly
meeting on Long Island up to that time. It was
a season of refreshment to all. At the close of the sermon
the quarterly collection was taken, when the following
scene occurred. Says Mr. Cooper:

There is one thing which I could but remark as singular in the
congregation to-day; namely, a Dr. Blatchley, who is also an officer
in the militia, was at meeting in his full regimental dress, tassels upon
his shoulders, etc. When we made the public collection for the use of
the Gospel he was one who stepped forward and went among his
acquaintances collecting. It is uncommon to see a man of his appearance
collecting in a large congregation for the benefit of the Gospel
and Methodists, especially in a place where the Methodists have
been so little thought of. We made the greatest collection that has
ever been made on this circuit, it is said. The night was spent at
John Weeks's.

The next day Mr. Cooper and his companions left
Comack for the southern part of the island. To him
the road was familiar. They visited Mr. Conkling, a
home of Mr. Cooper's nine years before. Then husband,
wife, and daughter were members of the Church, but
they had now greatly declined in religion. At four
o'clock P. M. Mr. Cooper preached at Mr. Chichester's,
in South Huntington, near the bay. The dwelling-house
being too small to hold the congregation, the
service was held in the barn. Again he was greeted by
old acquaintances. The day following he preached at
Mr. Raynor's in South Hempstead. Says he: “I put
them in mind of the old paths, and pressed them to
walk therein, holding the promise: ‘And ye shall find
rest to your souls.’” On Wednesday Rockaway was
visited, and after dining with “friend Demott” the
party rode to “the meeting-house,” where Mr. Cooper
preached. Then they rode two miles farther toward
Jamaica. The next day they dined in Jamaica, and
Mr. Cooper was urgently pressed to stay and preach for
them that evening; but, having an appointment at
Newtown at four o'clock P. M., he was obliged to move
forward. The appointment was filled. This night
was spent with Mr. Dean, of whom Mr. Cooper thus
speaks:

We put up at Mr. Dean's, a gentleman who is very friendly to the
Methodists. Two of his sisters are in Society in York. Mr. Dean's
place is one of the prettiest and most agreeable seats I have seen
upon the island.

On Friday, May 22, the company started before
breakfast for New York, breakfasted in Brooklyn at
Captain, Dayrell's, and entered the city about noon.
Thus ended his first excursion as presiding elder. It
would have been made three months earlier, but he was
detained in the city on account of sickness.

The following Sabbath being Whitsunday, the New
York Methodists observed it, and the day following,
after the manner of the Church of England, from which
we had, as a Christian denomination, separated. To
show this, read the following from Mr. Cooper's
journal:

Sunday, May 24. This being Whitsunday, I preached from Acts
ii, 4, in the new church, and we gave the sacraments. A powerful
time we had; the Lord was with us, of a truth. Several were so
wrought upon that for some time they could not walk nor stand. We
had a small shout of joy and gladness at the entrance of the ark into
the camp.

Monday, 24. Being Whitsuntide, we had preaching three times—Brother Brush in the morning, at the old church; I at three o'clock
P. M., at the new church; and Brother McCombs at six o'clock P. M.,
in the fields. We had a large company in the fields, and, generally,
they behaved well. In the close we had considerable power attending
the word. I hope good was done. Field preaching is not liked
by all, but it is calculated to do much good; thereby those hear the
word who go to no church.

We now call attention to the custom, observed by
the early Methodist Episcopal Church, of distinctly
celebrating a Sabbath, especially in the cities, once a
quarter, as an important period. Says Mr. Cooper:

Sunday, May 31. This was quarter day, on which the public collection
was made. We collected upward of £80; but I am told some
of our friends think I begged too hard. I preached from Prov. xi,
23-25. The other preachers in their sermons said something upon
the subject. Only myself it was that said too much. This week we
begin our quarter visitation in Society: the classes to visit, tickets to
renew, and sundry things that will keep us very busy.

On Wednesday and Thursday, June 3 and 4, Mr.
Cooper, accompanied by two of his members, Mr. and
Mrs. Fosbrook, was in Elizabethtown, N. J., visiting,
among others, Rev. Thomas Morrell, who was very unwell
A very pretty “preaching house” had been
erected by the Methodists in that town. Mr. Cooper
preached in it, though it was not entirely finished, and
was the instrument in God's hands of bringing comfort
to many of his hearers. He visited also the Crowell
and Robertson families, with whom the history of the
past was recalled. Returning to the city, quarterly
visitation was resumed, which for the most part consisted
in preaching, meeting the classes, and giving
tickets for the qnarterly love-feast. The love-feast was
held on Wednesday evening, June 17. Mr. Cooper
thus speaks of it:

This evening we held our quarterly love-feast; the Lord was powerfully
present. I have not seen so good a time for a great while past.
We were strict to our rules in admitting no person whatever, excepting
members, who had been in more than twice. Some were much
hurt, but we find that it is best to go by rule. One was set at liberty
in love-feast, and many strengthened.

The remainder of the month was devoted to preaching,
administering the ordinances, Christian conversation
with the disciples of the Master, among whom were
“old Brother Staples, Sister Staples, Dr. Wainwright,
and others” of that class which believed in the sanctification
of body, soul, and, spirit to God.

On the 29th of June Bishop Asbury visited the city,
and gave to the Church the privilege of enjoying his
ministrations and social intercourse for about ten days.
There were also at this time in the city, besides Messrs.
Cooper and McCombs, the pastors, the Revs. Freeborn
Garrettson, Kendall, Ware, and Roberts. As Mr.
Cooper has left an account of the bishop's method of
movement when visiting the pastoral charges, and as
its perusal will give delight to his successors in the
episcopacy should they peruse the recital, I here quote
the following:

Monday, 29. Bishop Asbury came to town in company with
Brother Ware. He proposes staying with us a week. The bishop
does not bring us any particular account of the work southward.
He began this afternoon to meet the classes, intending to meet them
all before he leaves the city.

On Tuesday the 30th, the bishop and Mr. Cooper
were visited by the Rev. Uzal Ogden, who brought with
him the first volume of his Answer to Paine's Age of Reason, and left it with them for perusal. He also
brought a few sheets of the second volume, which was
then going through the press. In the evening the
bishop preached to a very large congregation in John
Street Church. We now give a description of the manner
of celebrating the Fourth of July in New York in
1795. Says Mr. Cooper:

Saturday, July 4. This is the day of Independence, kept with great
pomp in this town. The wickedness of the citizens is truly great on
this day. Instead of reverencing the name of God for his providential
delivering of our country, the people seem disposed to spend their
time in licentiousness. Surely the sins of the people are enough to
provoke the Lord to enter into judgment with us!

At three o'clock the bishop, the other preachers, the trustees,
stewards, and leaders, had a meeting together to spend a few hours
in religious exercises, and conversing upon the state of the Society
with regard to temporal and spiritual affairs. We had a solemn time,
and, I hope, profitable to us all.

Sunday, 5. We had a comfortable day.

Monday, 6. The bishop met three classes at ten o'clock, five at
three o'clock, and four at eight o'clock. At three o'clock we had a
powerful time; the Lord was with us of a truth; every heart seemed
with joy.

The next day the bishop left the city, and in the
afternoon Mr. Cooper himself began his route to the
quarterly meeting at New Windsor, being accompanied
by his brother Sharock. The seat of the quarterly
meeting was within the bounds of the district over
which the Rev. Thomas Ware was presiding elder. It
was about sixty miles above New York, a short distance
from West Point, and was connected with the
circuit which Mr. Cooper had traveled seven or eight
years before. To reach the town he sailed up the Hudson
in a vessel commanded by a Captain Brown. There
were many passengers, and more than could be supplied
with berths or bedding, some having to lie by night on
chests or the floor to obtain any rest. The result was that
some were disorderly, and disturbed those who otherwise
could have slept. The wind being unfavorable,
they were two days and nights on the trip; but these
servants of God did not forget their duty in publicly
confessing Christ; on the contrary, they had evening
and morning prayer, and all on board were called to attendance
upon this means of grace. By this course the
respectful carriage of the thirty passengers was secured,
and resulted in gentle Christian conversation, whereby
the minds of many of them were enlightened and good
was done.

On the 9th of July they landed at New Windsor, and
were received by Mr. William Ellison, and afterward
by his relatives Mr. John Ellison and lady, who were
all earnest supporters of Methodism, and had a warm
affection for Methodist preachers.

On Saturday, the 11th, quarterly meeting began at
one o'clock. There were five preachers present, a large
assemblage of laymen, many of whom greeted, for the
first time for eight or nine years, their old pastor and
spiritual father. Mr. Cooper preached, also, the next
morning at eleven o'clock. The Sunday service was
opened by a love-feast, beginning at nine o'clock; then
came the sermon, and at its close the sacrament was
administered to “a large body” of communicants. In
the afternoon Mr. Cooper preached at Mr. Fowler's,
about eight miles from New Windsor. On Monday,
after visiting “a few old acquaintances” in the morning,
he rode in the afternoon to Newburg, where, in
the evening, he preached in the Presbyterian Church
to the largest congregation that had ever been known
to assemble in that meeting-house.” Here he was the
guest of his old friend Foster. On Tuesday he returned
to New Windsor, and at night set sail for New York,
where he was landed on Thursday morning before
breakfast.

The remaining weeks of Mr. Cooper's pastorate in
New York for this term were spent in the routine work
of the Church. In August there appeared to be a contagious
fever spreading through the city that alarmed
the people greatly. In the midst of its prevalence
Dr. Anderson, one of the members of the old church
in John Street, and physician in charge at Bellevue
Hospital, was taken also with the fever, and dispatched
one of the health Committee, an alderman, to Mr.
Cooper, requesting him to visit him. Bellevue (at that
time retaining the original French name, Belle Vue)
was about three miles outside of the town limits, and
was the place to which the Board of Health sent all
those who were stricken with malignant or contagious
fevers. Risking the danger of exposure he, accompanied
by the doctor's father and mother, rode out to the
hospital, and was gratified to find him much better.
The mortality in the city and vicinity, however, was
great.

On the 26th of August Rev. Wilson Lee, who had
been designated at the session of his Annual Conference,
held the previous July, to succeed Mr. Cooper in
New York at the end of his conference year, arrived
in the city and gave aid to him in his ministerial labors.
Besides him were also Revs. William Jessup,
from Nova Scotia, and John Kingston, from the West
Indies. With these to help him, Mr. Cooper attended
the quarterly meeting on Long Island Circuit, which
was held on the 29th and 30th days of the month.
Here he was privileged to greet more of his friends of
former years—the Furmans, Coe Searing, the Harpers,
and the Edsalls.

Returning to New York, he received, September 2,
a letter announcing the severe and probably fatal illness
of his brother Richard. He resolved to go home
as soon as he could get ready, and at once began “to
fix matters to leave the city.” While making his preparations
he was called upon, on Thursday evening, September
3, to open and close with prayer a meeting of
a new organization, to be held in Wesley Chapel in
John Street. The society's name was “The New York
Society for Suppressing Vice,” and was composed of
the various religious denominations organized for the
suppression of vice, Sabbath breaking, tippling houses,
etc. It was making a successful beginning. Within
two weeks two hundred respectable citizens had
joined it.

On Sunday, September 6, Mr. Cooper preached his
farewell sermon in each church and gave the Society
his last lecture; and, having closed up all his business,
on Wednesday, September 9, 1795, bade them adieu as
their pastor.

CHAPTER XI.
METHODISM IN PHILADELPHIA AND VICINITY, 1796.

THE Annual Minutes of 1795 report Mr. Cooper as
supernumerary, and, as all supernumeraries at that period
of our Church life were assigned to a charge as
such, he was assigned to Philadelphia, with John
McClaskey as elder in charge. The historical account
of this period being very meager, the records, of Mr.
Cooper are highly valuable, and will be set forth in
detail as time and circumstances will permit.

An interval of a month elapsed between his adieu to
the Methodists of New York and the session of the
Philadelphia Annual Conference where he was made
supernumerary. It was spent mostly in Delaware and
Eastern Maryland among his relatives. The Conference,
held in the city of Philadelphia, began its session
October 5, and closed by final adjournment on Saturday,
October 10, 1795.

On the following day, in the forenoon, Bishop Asbury,
accompanied by Mr. Cooper, preached in the African
church, and administered the holy communion. Says
Mr. Cooper:

This African Church is a congregation of black people, who have
procured for themselves a house of public worship and put themselves
under our charge. There is another African congregation in the city,
under the care of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Methodists had in the city at this time two other
houses of worship—St. George's and Ebenezer—and
the membership was: whites, 311; blacks, 121; total,
432.

A small portion of the conference year, 1795-96, was
spent by Mr. Cooper in Philadelphia. On the adjournment
of the Conference he returned to the Peninsula,
and held no pastoral relations with the Church in Philadelphia
for three months. These months were spent
among his relations on the Peninsula, in Annapolis, and
Baltimore.

On the 15th of January, 1796, he returned to Philadelphia
for the purpose of occupying the place of assistant
to Rev. John McClaskey, for three months.
Under that date he says:

We reached the city about six o'clock in the evening. I put up at
Captain Manley's, where I am to stay three months if I stay in the
city. He and his wife are very kind to me indeed. This house has
been my home these many years, when in Philadelphia.

Sunday, 17. I preached a sacramental sermon in the new church
at eleven o'clock, and heard Brother McClaskey preach in the old
church at three, where I preached at night. We are likely to have
large congregations, and I feel a hope and expectation that the Lord
will revive his work more or less. Brother McClaskey and I are to
be colleagues this winter. He is a faithful soldier of the Lord.

A clear and impressive account of his pulpit ministrations
has been left to us by Mr. Cooper, showing that
on the Sabbath and during the days intervening he
rendered those services to constantly increasing congregations;
but we must be content with only an occasional
quotation from his journal. Among these the
following is given under the date of January 24:

In the evening I attended the new church. The Lord was with us
in his blessed word, and I hear that several were powerfully wrought
upon, and some renewed their covenants. When I closed my sermon
old Father Abbott, though very weak in his body, felt a desire to
speak a few words; but he was so feeble that he could not say much
or speak with any degree of power.

Again:

Sunday, February 14. I had to preach in the evening a charity
sermon for the relief of the poor. When done preaching I came out
of the pulpit, and four preachers of us collected more than £50
for the poor, which is to be distributed according to their necessities.

Sunday, May 22. I preached a charity sermon for the African Society
at half-past six P. M.

While Father Abbott was in the city Mr. Cooper
aided him in preparing the manuscripts for publication
of the journal of his life and experience.

The month of March, 1796, was devoted by Mr. Cooper
to a tour, through some of the circuits in New Jersey,
and in attendance upon their quarterly meetings. During
this tour he visited Mount Holly, where he was the
guest, of Esquire Shiras; New Mills, at Isaac Budd's;
Francis Bodine's, near Egg Harbor; Hawkin, where a
quarterly meeting was held March 5, 6, under the charge
of Rev. Richard Swain, assisted by Rev. Joseph Lovell.
Eight years before Mr. Cooper had preached on this
circuit, and everywhere was greeted by old friends.
During this meeting he was entertained by Esquires
Conklin and Randolph. From thence he went to Wiertown,
preached in the school-house, and visited Mrs.
Headly and Mr. Chamberlain; thence to Goodluck,
preached there at Mr. Woodmansee's, not in the “meeting-house;”
thence to Tom's River, where was a “small
Society at friend Irons's. This Society had been formed
within a few years. Having closed his visit to Burlington
Circuit, his next excursion was through Freehold
Circuit, where Anthony Turk and Daniel Crouch were
appointed to labor for that year.

Mr. Cooper thus describes a part of the country
within the bounds of this circuit, known as the Salt
Meadows:

It is truly desolate and dreary to travel this piney and unsettled
country. Nothing but solid woods for many miles together, as though
a traveler were banished from all human kind, and gone from all
settlements. Once in awhile we come to a small place cleared,
with some one living on it.

He had been misdirected, and was so led to pass
through most desolate parts of the circuit. At night,
however, he arrived at Mr. Allen's, with whose father
he had had Christian fellowship when, nine years before,
he traveled this section, then a part of Jersey
Circuit. Here he preached on the 11th of March, and
then with Daniel Crouch, rode to Mr. Chamberlain's,
within nine miles of Monmouth Courthouse, where
he was greeted by Anthony Turk, the other circuit
preacher.

The Society in that neighborhood held their meetings
at Mr. Burgh's. He preached for them on Saturday,
March 12, taking for his text the words, “Comfort ye,
comfort ye my people, saith your God.” It was a timely
discourse, producing most important results, which Mr.
Cooper thus pictures:

We had a powerful time. I have not seen so powerful and lively
a meeting for a long time. The people were ready to take wings and
fly away. Many of them praised the Lord aloud. Every heart
seemed tendered into love and humility. There had existed a very
disagreeable dispute between some of the members of this Society,
which was feared would make a rent or division, and that some would
be turned out, among whom was the principal leader and a public
speaker who had been the most useful member in the whole Society.
But providentially we this day settled the matter, and compromised
the affair, so that peace is restored in an amicable manner.
I baptized two of the principal acting members, both leaders. This
is a good society, upon the whole, and there appears to be much religion
among them. I believe my coming here has been of great use in
settling the dispute, which had well-nigh murdered the souls of several.
I am ready to think the Lord sent me for this very purpose, for only
a few days ago I had no intention of coming, but by providentia
direction I have been conducted.

The next day he preached again at ten o'clock A. M.
at Mr. Burgh's with great success, and in the afternoon
at Freehold meeting-house, where they had a “melting
season,” and thence went to Mr. Garrett Morford's,
where again he had the company of the preachers
of the circuit. On Monday morning, at the request of
the preacher in charge, Rev. Mr. Turk, he met the
Public Bands “at friend Morford's.” Then he visited
Mr. Rice, one of his members eight year before, and
in the afternoon rode to Mr. Pyle's, who meeting him
in the piazza embraced him in his arms. Here, eight
years before, he was at home with “old brother Leonard,”
who had gone to the mansions of the blessed.
Mr. Pyle had taken the place of his father-in-law, and
it was to Mr. Cooper the same old home. He enjoyed
the brotherly care of the family for two days. From
thence he went to Tinton Falls and preached at Mr.
Morris's, then rode to Esquire Little's, where the night
was spent. He next visited and preached at Red Bank,
where a good Society had been raised within a few
years. There was no preaching in that neighborhood
when he was one of their circuit preachers.

Friday, March 18, was fast day. Mr. Cooper met the
public bands at two o'clock P. M., and in the evening
they had watch-night services, he preaching till half-past
nine, and being followed by speeches by four of
the local brethren. The remainder of the night was
spent with brother Turk at friend Chandler's.

On Saturday they rode to Long Branch, where the
quarterly meeting began. The presiding elder, Rev.
John Merrick, preached, and Mr. Cooper delivered an
exhortation. The Sabbath exercises were of the usual
order. Love-feast at 9 o'clock A. M., followed by the
Eucharist; preaching at 12 M. Mr. Cooper preached,
after which an exhortation was given by Mr. Pyle, and
Mr. Merrick closed the services. Among the families
that supported the Society at Long Branch were the
Drummonds and Kings.

Retracing his steps, Mr. Cooper again went to Red
Bank, where he preached, and with Mr. Shadwick, his
host, visited from house to house, gained an entrance
into Mr. Pintard's house, and was instrumental in breaking
down the violent opposition of Mr. Pintard to the
Methodists. He next visited Mr. Throgmorton in Colt's
Neck, preached, at Mr. Pyle's, and on the 23d of March,
after breakfasting at Mr. Grandine's, preached at eleven
o'clock A. M. in Monmouth Courthouse, at Freehold.
After dinner at Mr. Lloyd's, then Sheriff of that county,
he called to see Esquire Dennie where, with tears, old
recollections were recalled, and hopes of a future union
quickened. From thence he journeyed to Philadelphia.

Resuming his labors in Philadelphia, he preached
twice on Sunday, April 3, and assisted in administering
the sacrament. He was, however, in feeble health, and
thought much of “taking a horse and traveling to and
fro through the country.” On Sunday, April 10,
he preached at eleven o'clock A. M. in the African
Church, and administered the sacrament. In the evening,
as he was going into the old church to preach, a
letter was put into his hands bearing a request from
sundry persons that he should preach from Rev. xii, 1.
He did so, and gave great satisfaction. Other denominations
sought also to secure his services. On Monday
Dr. Van Pelt called upon him with an invitation “to
hold meeting for the St. Paul's Church Society,” and a
Mr. Ellison called with an invitation for him “to hold
meeting in the Presbyterian Society,” He agreed to
do so for each. In the evening he was solicited to
preach again for the African Society on the following
evening. This was also done. On Wednesday, the 13th,
he preached for the Presbyterians, having Dr. Chandler
to assist in the services, and on Friday evening, after
tea with the Rev. Mr. Turner and the Rev. Dr.
Rodgers, Episcopal clergymen, he preached in the St.
Paul's Church.

On Sunday, April 24, the presiding elder, Rev.
John Merrick, being in the city, Mr. Cooper preached
once with great liberty, and in the afternoon at Rev.
John Dickins's, with Mr. Merrick, had “a profitable
conversation upon the deep things of religious experience.”
All three engaged in the discussion.

Mr. Cooper visited Germantown on Saturday, May
7, 1796. Here, on the next day in the afternoon, he
preached to them in the Academy. Two weeks after
he was here again, and thus began an organization which
has now become an important factor in the Methodist
Episcopal Church. The state of Mr. Cooper's health
was now such that he did comparatively little work in
the churches in Philadelphia for the remainder of the
conference year. On the 2d of May he left the city
for a visit to Baltimore and the eastern shore of Maryland,
and was absent for five weeks. Returning on the
28th of June, he remained until July 4th, when he again
departed, going into New Jersey, to Shrewsbury and
other places, and did not return for two months. Under
date of October 7, 1796, he says:

Since September 4 I have been constantly in the city, preaching
four or five times a week, and attending to other duties of my station.
At brother McClaskey's request I transcribed the Articles of Association
entered into for the incorporation of our African Church. Last
week Brothers Haskins, Dickins, McClaskey and myself fully considered
and agreed upon the principles of incorporation for a Chartered
Fund for the better support of our itinerant ministry; and Brother
Haskins has accordingly drawn up an instrument for the charter, and
if approved of by the General Conference, it is to be established as an
Incorporated Fund for the uses and purposes therein mentioned.

This account of the origin of the Chartered Fund appears
for the first time in public print, and will be a
guide to the future historian of our Church.

On the 10th, of October, 1796, was opened in Philadelphia
the Annual Conference for that year, known
then as the District Conference; it continued in session
until Friday the 14th. The membership in the city
had increased: whites, 52; blacks, 60; total, 112. Mr.
Cooper's relation in the ministry had been changed
from supernumerary to effective, and he was continued
in the pastorate in the city. This was not, however, the
original arrangement, as may be seen by the following
extract from his journal. Under date of November
22, he writes:

I took the stage and rode to Philadelphia. This afternoon I met
Brother Lee,** Wilson Lee, Minutes, 1796, p. 71.
who will be my colleague for the ensuing year in this
city. At Conference here, in October, I somewhat expected to have
gone westward, to Pittsburg, Little York, and Carlisle for my station,
Esquire Shiras at Pittsburg, had applied in so pressing a manner to
the Bishop, and also to myself, to have me stationed there, that the
appointment was made; but the trustees of the Society in this city
united in a petition so strong to the Bishop for my continuance here,
that after we got to Baltimore (at the General Conference), the
appointment was altered for me to stay here.

Feeling the pressure that was upon him to continue
his pastorate in Philadelphia, and the other stationed
itinerants having gone to the General Conference, Mr.
Cooper remained with them until he had made out a
plan for the local preachers to supply the pulpit until
their return. Having done this he left the city, and
in two days arrived at Baltimore, to take his seat with
his brethren in General Conference. The body had
now been in session for eight days, having begun the
proceedings on the 20th ultimo, and was through with
the principal business of the session. It adjourned
finally on November 3, 1796.

Before returning to Philadelphia, Mr. Cooper made
an excursion through a part of the Peninsula, during
which time, on Sunday, November 20, he preached in
the morning at Dover, Delaware, in the State House,
and in the afternoon preached a funeral sermon in the
Protestant Episcopal Church, over the remains of Mrs.
Coleman.

Having resumed the labors of his station with Wilson
Lee, between whom and the church over which they
were associate pastors were the strongest bonds of
Christian union, the congregation began to increase,
and the cause of the Master to flourish. New places
for preaching were opened outside of the city limits, as,
for instance, at the house of Captain Decatur, thirteen
miles out; and whatever would lead to the establishing
of the Methodist Episcopal Church was religiously,
prudently, and hopefully undertaken. Philadelphia
was at this period in many respects the most, important
city on the American continent. Here the
United States Congress held it sessions; here the President
of the United States delivered his biennial address;
here, besides the Mayor's Court and the Court of Common
Pleas or Quarter Sessions, the State Legislature
convened. Both clergymen and laymen had abundant
opportunity for reflection upon the subject of making
and executing laws, the causes and necessities thereof,
and for learning lessons of wisdom from the wise men
of the nation. Nor was the city behind other cities in
providing for the various forms of literature, of science,
and of art. The sympathy of the citizens with these
may be seen by the following testimony of Mr. Cooper
in regard to one of the Departments. Under date of
Saturday, December 17, 1796, he says:

The Philosophical Society having honored me with a card requesting
me to attend the delivery of a “Eulogium on their late President,
Dr. David Rittenhouse,” to be pronounced before them this day at
twelve o'clock by Dr. Rush, I attended, and was highly pleased with
the principal part of the eulogy—and particularly with the vindication
of the Christian religion, and the principles of liberty which
were urged clearly and boldly before a large assembly of the first
citizens of the United States and many respectable foreigners. The
President of the United States, both houses of Congress, the State
Legislature, Select and Common Councils, all the clergy, etc., besides
a large concourse of other citizens, were there; not less, I judge,
than a thousand or twelve hundred people. The Presbyterian
meeting-house in High Street was well filled.

Mr. Cooper had, during the previous conference year,
been boarding with Captain Manley, where he was
most kindly entertained; but for greater convenience
to him in his work he was called upon to bid adieu to
this Christian home, and took board with Colonel North
and his family. The colonel was a member of the Select
City Council and a trustee in St. George's Methodist
Episcopal Church. The family was equally as
kind as the one he had left.

The old year was closed with a watch-night service
in St. George's Church. Mr. Cooper preached with
much freedom from 1 Peter iv, 7, 8. John Dickins,
William Haskins, Mr. Jolliff, Richard Swain, and
William Chandler exhorted in order, one after the
other, and the meeting was closed by Rev. Wilson Lee.

The year 1797 was to the citizens of Philadelphia in
some respects a year of sadness. One of the first and
most painful of these scenes of sorrowful sympathy was
the affliction brought to the family and friends of a Mr.
Brown, a wealthy manufacturer, who lost by the burning
of his residence on the night of the 27th of January
his wife and three children. Himself and a servant
girl also subsequently died, by reason of the burns they
had received during the conflagration. The burial of
the mother and her three children is thus pictured by
Mr. Cooper. He says:

Saturday, January 28. At four o'clock in the afternoon I attended
the funeral of Mrs. Brown and her three children, who perished by
the fire yesterday morning. There were about a dozen clergy, and I
believe, at the lowest calculation, not less than five thousand people.
The streets were crowded from side to side so full that it took two or
three, with the sexton, to clear a passage for the procession to the
church. It was truly an awful sight to see a mother and three children
borne to the grave at once, who were all well and cheerful two
days ago. How suddenly do things change! Two days ago, going
through the city in health and gayety; now carried, mournfully and
solemnly, to the grave amid thousands of melancholy spectators.
How awful is the reflection! how sorrowful the scene! Every thing
looks gloomy, and the thousands of faces appear sad!

This affecting circumstance has filled the city with more melancholy
than any one occurrence that has been known before for a long
time, if ever.

Where people at one time moved about with broken
hearts, the scene was within a month changed into that
of joyful hilarity, respectful congratulations, and animated
discourse. Such was witnessed on the anniversary
of President Washington's birth, February 22,
1797. In ten days he was to lay aside the magisterial
robe of State, and take his place as a private citizen
among his countrymen. Because of his position before
the country, and in view of these facts, great ado was
made throughout the city on the return of the anniversary
of his natal day. Public bodies called to pay last
respects to him as President of the United States, and
national airs were sung to the praise of him who was
truly styled the father of his country. On the last day
of his official life as President, namely, March 3, 1797,
he received a visit from the clergymen of the city, of
which Mr. Cooper thus speaks:

Friday, March 3, 1797. This day at three o'clock the ministers of
different denominations met at the college, and from thence waited
on the President of the United States at his house, and presented
him with an address, and received his answer. There were more than
twenty of us, of different communities, who put our names to the
same address, and went in harmony together to the house of the
President. We sat a little while with the old gentleman, who conversed
with us on the subject of his retirement. This is the last day
of his political life as the chief magistrate of the States.

The next day at twelve o'clock General Washington's
successor, John Adams, was sworn into office by
the Chief Justice in the House of Representatives.
This was another scene of thrilling interest, the house
being densely crowded with spectators. When General
Washington entered he was saluted, with a general
plaudit which rang through the house in loud acclaim.
Soon after, on the entrance of John Adams, the President
elect, the house again echoed with applause. Silence
having been obtained, he arose and delivered a
stirring address, and then going to the table where the
judges were seated took the oath of office; he then
withdrew, followed by Thomas Jefferson, the new Vice
President, and the assembly separated.

During the earlier part of April Mr. Cooper attended
a quarterly meeting held on Bethel Circuit, New Jersey.
He was the guest of Mr. Bates for a few days, and rode
with the family to the quarterly meeting on Saturday,
April 8, where he preached, and also on the Sabbath
ensuing. Here he was the guest of Mr. Dilks, who also
entertained, with him, the preachers on that charge—Revs. John McClaskey, presiding elder, and John Regan
and Anthony Turk, circuit preachers. The season was
one of religious power. On his return to Philadelphia
the next day he was accompanied, he tells, us, by Brother
McClaskey, Brother Regan, and five or six other friends.
“As we traveled I found my mind comfortable. our
conversation was principally upon divine things. We
sang parts of several hymns on the road.”

Having returned to the city on Good Friday, which
occurred that week, and which he always observed religiously,
he preached a sermon “suited to the day;”
and on Sunday, April 16, Easter Sunday, his discourses
were concerning the resurrection of our Lord.

After the close of the Easter services Mr. Cooper
began to make preparations for leaving Philadelphia,
in order that he might take his station on Pittsburg
Circuit, to which he had been appointed at the beginning
of the conference year (see above). His description
of matters is so graphic that the reader is asked
to read it, because it reflects materially on the state of
Methodism in the city at that time. He says:

This week I was preparing to leave the city with an intention of
going home first, and then to cross the Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis;
so on by Alexandria and through the north part of Virginia to Pittsburg,
and not to return to Philadelphia till Conference. I bought
a horse, and was almost prepared to start, when the society rose
almost in arms against my leaving them. There were such solicitations
for me to stay, that I found there was danger of injury
being the consequence of my going, inasmuch as great and grievous
trials had begun to seize fast hold on many minds among our principal
and influential friends. Their temptations were strong, and
they so fully showed by word and action how they felt, that I
judged, in counsel with some of the most judicious, that it would
be best for me to stay. It was believed that two or three of the
preachers wished me away, and not from proper motives. Whether
this was the case or not, it was so believed from appearances, etc.;
and this laid the great foundation of the trials which took place.
And had I gone, it is yet thought, the consequences would have
been bad. There appeared to be general dissatisfaction at the
move for my going. This hint stands for my apology for staying.
Soon as I agreed to stay things began to calm away, and I hope
will subside. Hence my journey to Pittsburg is frustrated once
more. The circumstances which have taken place relative to my
leaving the city have filled my mind with deep reflection. First, it
has given evidence to me and others of the friendship of the people
toward me. Secondly, it has also given an opportunity to discover
the minds of a few who might, probably, wish me away. Thirdly,
it has led me to pray and to watch, particularly on some occasions
which, otherwise, I might have neglected more. And I hope with
humility and gratitude that I may be led and drawn nearer to the
Lord. O may I fulfill the expectation of friends in the discharge of
my ministerial duty!

Resuming his work in his old field, he discharged
the duties of a pastor in a manner so worthy as to
bind the affections of the people to him in bonds that
the century now closing has not broken. This will
fully appear as we proceed with our narrative.

As stated above, Mr. Cooper introduced Methodism
into Germantown, Pa. On Sunday, June 4, 1796, he
preached twice to its citizens; and at the close of his
discourse organized the first Methodist Society established
in that town. He thus speaks of it: “After preaching,
at three o'clock, I joined eleven in Society.
O may this be a foundation for a large Society in that
town! ” A week thereafter, attended by his brother,
Foxall, he preached at the quarterly meeting at Bristol;
then they rode to Morrisville, and thence went to
Trenton. After giving an account of his previous movements
on that day, he says:

Sunday, June 11. I crossed over to Trenton and preached there
by candle-light to an attentive congregation. I opened James i, 25.
It has been about nine years since I traveled this circuit or have been
in this city. Great changes have taken place since then; but numbers
of the old standards are yet here and standing fast in the Lord.

Monday, 12. I took a walk with old friend Coots to see how Trenton
had improved since I was here. We went to the Academy and
visited each room, and heard the scholars in each department in their
exercises. There appears to be good order in the school, and I think
it promises well, so far as I can see or understand its objects and regulations.
Trenton has improved; the State-house is a considerable
addition to the place.

In July Mr. Cooper's colleague, Rev. Wilson Lee, was
prostrated by sickness, and the burden of the charge
fell wholly upon Mr. Cooper. From that time to the
close of the conference year, he made no excursions
within the bounds of other charges; for though his colleague
was restored to health, the yellow fever made
its appearance in August, and the services of both were
demanded in care for the dead and dying. The account
left by Mr. Cooper of this terrible scourge, and of his
own sacrifices and those of his brethren, is so thrilling
that it is for the most part now laid before the reader
of these pages in the words penned by Mr. Cooper in his
journal. He begins thus:

Sunday, August 13. Brother Regan preached for me in the morning,
and assisted me with the sacrament. He and I this afternoon
attended the funeral of young Mr. Wild, who died with the fever which
is beginning to take place in this city. We both visited him while
he was ill. This week the people begin to be much alarmed about
the contagious fever, which appears threatening. The doctors are
divided in opinion, and are writing in opposition to each other; and
the fears of the people are wrought upon amazingly.

Sunday, 20. I preached to-day, seriously, upon the subject of the
sickness; warning the people to prepare. The terror through this
week caused the people very much to flock out of town; by the last
of the month it is believed that one third of the people had moved to
the country.

The beginning of September the fever increased, and the people
flying, and by the middle of the month about half the population
had removed—some believe two thirds. The city seemed depopulated.
Colonel North's family, where I lived, stayed until Thursday,
the 14th of September; and some of our friends advised me to go
also, as the family where I lived had gone; but my mind was not so
free to go. The deaths are now between twenty and thirty a day—more than thirty died one day. But as I was stationed here as a
preacher I resolved to put my trust in the Lord and stand by the dear
people in the days of adversity and distress. Truly things appear
gloomy and melancholy, but the Lord he is God. He saved Daniel in
the lion's den; he saved the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace;
and he is able to save in the midst of a raging fever. Through
mercy I am very little afraid, and cannot say that I am any alarmed
or terrified.

I concluded to stay in Colonel North's house. Miss Fanny Wolf,
one of our friends, stays also to take care of the house, so that, with
the assistance of a little girl of one of the neighbors, she keeps house,
cooks, etc. 'Tis a solemn time for prayer and meditation. I have
ventured to go among the sick, and, two or three days, I felt very
poorly myself; but I took medicine for three successive days and
found relief.

Saturday, September 16. Brother Lee, Brother Dickins, and myself
came to a resolution to publish in the public prints that our Conference,
[the Philadelphia Annual—P.] would he held at Duck Creek
Cross Roads [Smyrna, Del.], instead of this city. I called upon three
printers, all of whom promised to publish it on Monday. So I furnished
them with a copy. We also wrote circular letters to the different
districts to the same purpose.

We have accounts that Brother Regan is dead; that he took the
fever while in town and died some days ago. Thus his course is
run and his work is done. We have no doubt that he rests with
his Lord in heaven. When he was leaving the city I accompanied
him to the boat, where we conversed some time upon the very awful
calamity, and the uncertainty of life and every thing in this world.
We then parted with clasped hands, commending each other to God
and divine protection. We hoped to meet again in time, but death has
cut him off, and we shall meet no more till we appear before the Lord.
O may I be prepared to reign with him in glory, with all the saints
above! By grace I may be saved, and by grace through faith only.
My trust is in the Lord, my Saviour.

It is my intention, if the Lord spare me, to stay in town until I
go off to Conference. The people are dying fast; between twenty
and thirty die a day; and in my ministerial calling I have to go
from end to end and from side to side of the city. It may naturally
be supposed that I feel at times apprehensions of danger; but I reason
thus: if the people ever want the visits and counsel of a minister,
it is in time of affliction and distress. Shall I leave them now?
No; it would be like a shepherd flying from his flock in time of danger!
Although I risk my health and life, yet my duty is to feed and
comfort the flock of Christ, and not flee until called by the duties
of my profession to take charge elsewhere, or attend Conference, or
something of a passing nature. Truly it is affecting to see the
sorrows and woes of the afflicted and distressed. Sometimes the
nearest friends fly from the sick, and leave them in their anguish
and misery. How melancholy to see parents leave their children,
and children their parents! and sometimes fear preys so powerfully
that a husband or wife cannot have resolution to stay with the
companion of his or her life. To attempt a full description of
the various scenes of distress would be in vain; imagination can
scarcely figure out the miseries of many. Even among the well
the distresses were truly great; business being so stagnated that
The poor were out of employ, many were, consequently, deprived of
the means that brought them daily the necessaries of life. Had
not the public, by legislative authority, made an appropriation of
$10,000, the poor might, many of them, have been entirely destitute
of a mouthful of bread. O to think! a family, a mother and
house full of children, with tears and sorrow, lamenting their fate—not being able to leave the place, nor to procure a piece of bread
to satisfy their hunger. But by the public moneys there was a small
relief; however, the $10,000 were soon distributed to the hundreds
of poor and needy. The Commissioners let this be known, and
begged the voluntary contributions of the citizens who were able.
The feelings and sympathy of the people in and out of the city,
soon drew their contributions forward, by which means we hope the
sufferings of the poor will be alleviated.

The Conference year had now drawn to its close, and
on the 7th day of October, 1797, Mr. Cooper left Philadelphia
en route to the seat of the Conference, Smyrna,
Del. On that day he arrived at Wilmington, Del., and
the day following, Sunday, Oct. 8, he preached to that
congregation at eleven o'clock A. M., and was followed
by Bishop Asbury, who preached at three o'clock P.M.,
and Jesse Lee, who preached at night. On the 9th
they, with other preachers in company, arrived at
Smyrna, and on Tuesday, the 10th, the Conference session
began.

Early on Tuesday morning Bishop Asbury sent a
message to Mr. Cooper requesting him to act as Conference
secretary, but he had become so enfeebled by
the duties devolved, upon him through the past two
months, that he sought to be released therefrom, and
was excused. The Conference was six days in session,
and, says Mr. Cooper:

We had a glorious time. The Lord was with us, indeed. Peace,
unity, and love reigned among the preachers, and great power attended
their ministry. A number were converted. Almost every
day and evening we had a shout among the people.

Friday, 13. Was the day of ordination; ten or eleven elders and
three or four deacons were set apart to those offices, and solemnly
ordained.

Sunday, 15. We had a happy time in love-feast. The Bishop
preached at eleven o'clock, I at three o'clock, and Jesse Lee in the
evening.

During the year now closed the church in Philadelphia,
notwithstanding the scourge of the yellow fever,
had increased in membership among the whites, though
the decrease was considerable among the blacks. The
gain of the former was eighteen; the loss of the latter
was eighteen.

Mr. Cooper's station for the ensuing Conference year
was at Wilmington, Del., which, included also the adjoining
village of Newport. Besides this, the Conference
had put him in charge of a great duty in connection
with the book business of the Church, as may be
seen by the following extract from the Conference
Minutes of 1797. On pages 19 and 20 of the Minutes
we read;

Quest. 14. What regulations have been made in respect to the
printing business and the publication of books?

Ans. The Philadelphia Conference, in whom the management of
these affairs was invested by the General Conference, and who have
not time during their annual sittings to complete this business, have,
by the advice and consent of Bishop Asbury, unanimously appointed
the following persons to be a Standing Committee, namely, Ezekiel
Cooper, Chairman; Thomas Ware, John McClaskey, Christopher Spry,
Presiding Elders; William McLenahan, Richard Swain, Solomon
Sharp, and Charles Cavender, Elders.

The above Committee are to meet at Philadelphia on the 2d of January,
1798, and once a quarter afterward, or oftener if necessary, to
consider and determine upon what manuscripts, books, or pamphlets
shall be printed.

Four of said committee, when met as above, shall proceed to business,
provided that the chairman and one of the presiding elders be
present. And the General Book-Steward shall lay before the Committee
all manuscripts, books, and pamphlets which are designed for
publication, except such as the General Conference has authorized
him to publish.

CHAPTER XII.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN WILMINGTON,
DELAWARE, AND VICINITY, 1797, 1798.

AFTER spending two weeks in visiting his friends in
Delaware and Maryland, Mr. Cooper entered upon the
duties of his pastorate at Wilmington and Newport.
He had earnestly desired the Bishop not to give
him the charge of a circuit or station for that year.
He says:

I wanted to be as one that serveth, and not to have rule or
authority in discipline or government. Power and authority I never
coveted, but wish others to exercise it who like it better than I.
Once I thought that I would be relieved from having the care and
charge; but as the Bishop requests it, I, merely in compliance with
his desire, submit.

He found the Church in Wilmington to be in a state
of disorder and confusion: “Scarcely any regularity at
all, and rather a general anarchy in the affairs of the Society,
and a disunity and murmuring, one with another,
prevails.” The number of members had been reported
to the Annual Conference, held the month previously,
to be: whites, sixty-one; blacks, thirty-seven. He found,
after a careful survey of the whole field in Wilmington,
“forty-nine whites, thirty-two blacks.” He addressed
himself at once to the work of seeking to restore in
them the spirit of union and brotherly love.

As stated in the preceding chapter, Mr. Cooper was
appointed to be chairman of the Committee on “Printing
and the Publication of Books.” To this responsible
duty the following letter from Bishop Asbury
refers:

MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

All things are well with us here. I
am absent from Conference by weakness of body. I am full of infirmities,
but the will of the Lord be done.

I hope the Standing Committee will magnify their office, and show
their taste and spirituality also. I wish to print nothing but sterling
sense and sentiments. There appears a harmony in the whole body
of Conference. I am teaching and training them to do without me.
My grief is, I am Bishop alone; my honor and office I cannot give to
another; if I could, I judge it would be soon done.

If you ever supposed alienation of affection in me to you in my
refusing to write, you are mistaken. But the best of men are men at
the best.

I have a wish that a few letters I wrote upward of thirty years
ago, copied and preserved by my friend Andrews, might be put into
the magazine. I am sure I am right in my desire of printing the
Notes on the Discipline. You, in your annual distant station, can
hardly conceive the mischief and abuse we meet with from unchristian
and illiberal minds. In many parts they raise a dust and escape
in the clouds.

Next Sabbath I hope to preach in the new building. Last Lord's
day I had to speak on the death of Martha Fonerdon, from John's
Gospel, eleventh chapter, 24-27 verses. O, my dear Cooper, be
wholly for God. This will he a year of judgment and mercy.

I am ever thine, in Jesus, FRANCIS ASBURY.As to the notes on the Discipline, I wish them, to be printed in
January. By all means leave out the letters. Put the Deed at the
end, and place the different branches of the Minutes of the last General
Conference in the sections where they belong. And about
Brother Dickins's allowance, put it all to death; it is no article of
faith nor discipline.Do your best; take time; expect no thanks from men, but do all
you can. Angels can do no more. I shall be very free in giving
my opinion on any subject the Committee shall think proper, through
you, to consult me.I write to you from Baltimore, October 24, 1797. Bear this in mind.

The above deeply interesting letter—valuable on
account of its historical significance—will serve to
correct a mistake made in the edition of Asbury's Journal,
vol. ii, p. 353, where the name of Martha Fonerdon,
as given in the letter to Mr. Cooper, and also in the
Journal, vol. ii, p. 354, is recorded as Martha F.
Allison. The correction of the error is due to the
descendants of so noble and worthy a character as this
lady established in the early annals of Baltimore Methodism.

Within a few days after the receipt of Bishop Asbury's
letter, Mr. Cooper was called upon to perform an act of
brotherly regard for another member of the Society at
Baltimore. Having secured the services of his brother,
Thomas Bell, for a week, in Wilmington, he took passage
with Captain Foudray for Philadelphia. Here
he did the work for which he had mainly embarked.
He says:

Saturday, November 18. I attended the Register's Court, at the
request of Mrs. Wright, from Baltimore, who had applied for the administration
on the estate of her sister, who died in the fever in this
city. A caveat was entered against her by a set of vile and wicked
men who sought to keep her from her sister's estate; and such
another scene of villainy I never saw in any trial as appeared in this
business. However, Mrs. Wright easily cast them, and obtained a
decree in her favor. It was proposed to prosecute the wretched
creatures for perjury and design to defraud.

Returning to Wilmington, he took board with Captain
Michael Dawson, where, in a quiet home, with a small
family in easy circumstances, he spent many happy
days. His pulpit labors for the Sabbath were preaching,
morning and evening, in Wilmington, and in the afternoon
at Newport. In addition to this he also preached
during the week, generally on Thursday night. Soon
the congregations began to increase, and clergymen of
other denominations waited on his ministry, which act
of brotherly fellowship he cordially reciprocated. Thus
Episcopal, Presbyterian and Methodist clergymen gave
countenance to each other and mingled with the members
of the several denominations in social intercourse.
Among the laity, those in the highest circles were led to
the hitherto despised Methodists with favor, an
illustration of which is given in the following extract.
Says Mr. Cooper:

Thursday, November 8. In the evening I preached with much
liberty from Rev. xxi, 7. Had a large congregation, among whom
were three ministers; and, for the first time, the judge of the Federal
Court for this district and his lady were at our church.

Dr. Coke, who had unexpectedly arrived from England
in November, and who had had his sympathies wrought
to a great degree by reason of the location of so
many of the itinerant preachers, “through weakness of
body or family concerns”—the number at this time was
forty-three—wrote to Mr. Cooper a letter, which
certainly demands of the ministry and membership
of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America of
the present generation our grateful recognition of
the brotherly spirit of that noble man. The letter
is given below, and is now first published. Let the
recollection of its author's kindliness dwell in our
memories. He says:

NEW YORK, December 6, 1797.MY DEAR BROTHER:

I have long groaned in spirit over the loss
we have suffered by the withdrawing of our married ministers on
this continent from the general work for want of support. The evil
sustained by this is unmeasurable. I therefore wish to devote £60
per annum sterling ($266 64) toward the help of our married ministers,
till there be a regular and sufficient supply for them, on the following
plan, namely:

If you find out by personal interview, or by correspondence, that
any preacher is a valuable man in the work is going to sit
down, or has sat down, because he is going to be married, or is
married, and because he has not sufficient support for himself and
family, and you have reason to believe that the want of support is the
true reason of his going to withdraw from the itinerant plan, or of
his having withdrawn; I beg of you, in such case, to offer to him, in
my name, £20 a year sterling ($88 88) till such time as a regular and
sufficient support be provided, if he will continue on the itinerant
plan. And if he accept of the offer, I beg of you to give him a
draft or bill of exchange, signed by yourself, on me, at Mr. John
Bebbington's, umbrella maker, City Road, London, for £20 sterling;
and if any thing prevent my return till the General Conference, and
the second year commences before my return, I beg of you to draw
upon me a second time for £20. I choose to put confidence in the
brethren concerned, and, therefore, would have the whole year's
allowance made to them at the commencement of it. You may, therefore,
go as far as to assist three ministers on this plan, so as to make
up the £60 per annum. And I desire you will inform the brethren
thus assisted that I expect they will take exactly the same pains in
their circuits to get the salaries, both for themselves and their wives,
as if I had given them no assistance; this I insist upon. Tell them,
also, that I expect them to keep this a secret, as the discovery of it
might prevent my friends assisting me to bear my traveling expenses;
but if it be discovered by the means of drawing bills on me, let it be
discovered in such case; let not the good be lost on that account.
Be pleased to draw upon me sixty days after sight. I shall give my
agent in London sufficient directions on this subject, and shall be
prepared for you; and I will take care that if a bill or bills to the
amount of £60 sterling come to London while I am on my voyage
returning, there shall be money enough left behind in the hands or at
the command of my agent to answer such bill or bills. And I shall
consider your assisting me in this business as a great favor conferred
upon myself; as, you will thereby afford me an opportunity of glorifying
God, I believe, in the most useful manner with my little
substance.

Your faithful friend, T. COKE.To EZEKIEL COOPER.P. S. If in any case you judge that £20 or £24 Pennsylvania
currency will be sufficient, you may fix the allowance, that is to
say, my additional assistance, accordingly.

That the matter of a competent support for our married
ministry lay very near the heart of Bishop Coke will be
seen, also, by an extract from a letter addressed to Mr.
Cooper by him a year after the foregoing epistle, dated
New Chapel, City Road, London, December 18, 1798.
In this he says:

The work of God in America lies exceedingly near my heart. I
long to hear of those great outpourings of the Spirit with which you
were blessed some years ago. But you may depend upon it, my dear
brother, that the work will never flourish as extensively and permanently
as we could wish till you have further provision for a married
ministry; and this will never be the case till the traveling preachers
take that business up in a way they never hitherto have done. It is
contrary to the word of God and the reason of things to suffer the
married preachers to drop off as they do for want of food for themselves
and families. It is a most crying evil, and will ruin the work
of God in America if some remedy be not devised. I could weep
tears of blood about it. And this is not an opinion precipitately
formed, but has been the firm sentiment of my mind ever since I
knew America.

So deep was Dr. Coke's interest in this matter, that
in less than a month after writing the letter from which
the above extract is taken, he wrote a third to Mr.
Cooper, which, though antedating our history of the
work under Mr. Cooper's charge, is here given. It is
as follows:

ISLAND OF JERSEY, January 12, 1799.MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

Having an opportunity of sending you
a letter by the pious captain of an American ship, who will soon sail
from Guernsey (a neighboring island to this), I embrace it in order to
write to you once more before I have the pleasure, God willing, of
seeing you. I bless God, he has wonderfully restored my health. I
am quite renewed, and with some allowances feel the vigor of youth.
This is the Lord's doing, and it is truly marvelous in my eyes. I
can bless God also that I am enabled to walk with him, but I am very
weak in spiritual things, and want your prayers and those of all the
brethren. I am now on this Island, and have been endeavoring to
put an end to a very dreadful persecution of our people here, which
was carried on for six years; and the Lord has given me the hearts of
the King and his Council, and has enabled me to bring this business
to a happy conclusion. Since I had the pleasure of being with you, I
have spent a considerable time in Ireland. You have, undoubtedly,
received accounts of the dreadful rebellion in that country. I was in
Ireland at the height of it, and was obliged to employ much of my time
in gaining the protection and interference of the government in that
kingdom in behalf of our suffering preachers, and God was pleased to
give me success, without which (humanly speaking) they would not
have held their Conference, nor would many of them have traveled.
I shall visit Ireland again, God willing, next spring, and return to the
English Conference in July, and set off in the Packet for New York
in the beginning of September. And I can truly say, Brother, that
I anticipate the pleasure of seeing you again. My soul is always refreshed
among you, but I continually bemoan that great deficiency
among you—the want of support for a married ministry. I have
known America for fourteen years; and when I consider what a
number of holy, experienced, zealous, able men have been laid aside,
and rendered comparatively useless through this great evil, I am
sometimes grieved above measure. It makes me go sometimes
heavily along, not deserted of God (glory to his Name), but oppressed
in spirit. I recount to myself the names of numbers who have answered
the above description, and then consider what they are now
in the Church of God—holy men, it is true, but almost useless. I
pass an hour in praying over this awful subject, and then another
hour, and then I cast myself before God, crying out: O Lord, what
a glorious number of able men should we have had jointly with
those who now labor, in the work if this great evil had not existed;
and then, methinks, I could weep tears of blood! But I know,
Brother, that it is in the power of the General Conference to remedy
this evil for the future. I am sure you will bear with my weakness,
as it flows from the purest love to the cause of God in America.

The schism which took place in England is confirmed. We have
lost, our enemies say, five thousand; but I am sure we have added in
the balance of England alone, since the schism, seven thousand and
upward, and have got rid of as troublesome a set of people as ever,
I think, plagued a church of Christ. Their head, who was the great,
active man among them in speaking, travelling, and writing (Alexander
Kilham), died the other day by swallowing a little bone in a
mutton chop. It was extracted, but had so lacerated the wind-pipe
that he expired within a few hours.

The raising of money for the work in the West Indies has wholly
lain upon me, in consequence of there being so many chapel built
this year to supply for the chapels which were lost by the schism.
Twelve able missionaries have been sent over within eleven months,
three of whom have families. The expense of that work will be this
year about £2,400 ($10,665 60). But God has given us about eleven
thousand souls in those islands, besides those which have been safely
lodged in Abraham's bosom. O what is money compared to immortal
souls, for which Christ died?

May the God of Love, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
our Father in Him, fill you with every grace and gift of his Spirit
necessary for your own salvation and the salvation of thousands.
Give my kindest love to all the preachers, traveling and local, in your
neighborhood, and also to all the private members to whom I am
personally known, and don't forget to pray for

Your truly affectionate friend and brother, T. COKE.EZEKIEL COOPER, Presiding Elder of the Methodist Episcopal
Church: care of the resident Elder of the Methodist Church, John
Street, New York.

These important letters will furnish the reader with
data to guide to a proper estimate of our honored
Bishop Coke, who introduced, advocated, and succeeded
in securing the passage of a rule by the General Conference
of 1800, by which the salaries of the “distressed”
preachers were increased, and therefore locations
in the ministry became less frequent, and many of
those who had previously taken that course returned
to the effective ranks of the Methodist itinerancy.
Having in this digression placed on record the above
facts, we resume the narrative, drawn from Mr. Cooper's
papers, after the reception of Dr. Coke's letter from
New York.

On the 6th of December, 1797, Dr. Coke visited
Mr. Cooper at Wilmington, Del., and as the Publishing
Committee were soon to have a session in Philadelphia,
Rev. James Moore came to take Mr. Cooper's
place for a few weeks during his absence. These,
with Judge Bassett and others, had a social gathering
at Mr. Cooper's boarding-house, which continued until
about nine o'clock P M. The hours were spent in the
discussion of several important points of doctrine and
opinion, the chief of which was concerning the millennium,
and whether Christ's reign during the thousand
years will be personal or spiritual. Says Mr. Cooper:

This brought on a considerable dispute in a Christian and friendly
way. Doctor Coke and Judge Bassett were both of the opinion that
Christ will reign personally the thousand years. I rather favored a
spiritual reign. It was argued, on their side, that the primitive
Fathers hold with the personal reign, and that the Scriptures held
out that idea. I opposed,

1. That the first Fathers of the Church did not hold it; and that
none of the Fathers during the first century ever advanced the idea.
Ignatius of Antioch, Dionysius the Areopagite of Athens, Clemens
Romanus, Polycarp of Smyrna, and their contemporaries, held no such
doctrine. And that according to Eusebius of Cesarea, in his Bibliotheca
Patrum, one Papius was the first who introduced that doctrine.
True, after him, others of the Fathers held it, and it has
been called by some the “Dotage of antiquity,” according to Dupin's
History of the Fathers. I argued,

2. That it appeared to me, where the Scriptures spoke of Christ's
personal coming, it referred to his coming at the day of judgment,
which is understood to be after the thousand years spoken of are
expired; and that when his reigning a thousand years was mentioned
it did not appear to be expressed that he then was to come personally.
Further, if he then came personally, and is also to come personally at
the day of judgment, then there are two comings yet to be expected,
which will make three comings in all, and, of course, after he comes
the first of those two last times, he will return again, for which I see
no Scriptural authority. And thus we left the subject.

The Sabbath following was observed by a love-feast
at nine o'clock A. M., preaching at eleven o'clock, by
Dr. Coke; then followed the Lord's supper; at three
o'clock P. M. by Mr. Cooper at Newport, and in the
evening by Dr. Coke at Wilmington, who afterward
met the Society.

On Monday the 18th of December, Dr. Coke, Rev.
Christopher Spry, presiding elder, and Mr. Cooper
went to Philadelphia to sit with the other members of
the Book Committee. They opened the session on
Wednesday, December the 20th, nearly two weeks
earlier than the time ordered by the Philadelphia Conference.
This was, probably, because Dr. Coke could
then meet with them, but could not later because of his
return to Europe. The members present were, besides
Dr. Coke, Christopher Spry and John McClaskey, presiding
elders; Richard Swain, Solomon Sharp, Charles
Cavender, elders; and Ezekiel Cooper, chairman.

The session lasted eight days, during which time the
committee prepared for the press—being mindful of
Bishop Asbury's instructions in the letter to Mr.
Cooper, given above—The Form of Discipline, with
Explanatory Notes, and four sermons on The Duty of
the Gospel Ministry, by Dr. Coke, “on sundry other
publications,” and passed certain resolutions, besides
making a few regulations respecting the Book Concern.”

On Friday, December 29, Dr. Coke and Mr. Cooper
took the stage from Philadelphia to New York, where
they arrived the next night, at about nine o'clock.
The passage across North River was difficult, because of
the ice; and the ferriage, which was commonly twelve
and a half cents, was raised to seventy-five cents.

The packet in which Dr. Coke took passage not being
ready to sail, he was delayed in New York for a week.
Mr. Cooper remained with him. The time was devoted
to the work of the ministry, and to social Christian
communion with the Methodists of New York, then
under the pastoral care of Revs. George Roberts,
Joshua Wells, and William Beauchamp. Mr. Cooper
has left the following record of the Doctor's embarcation.
He says:

Saturday, January 6, 1798. The doctor sailed about twelve o'clock.
I went on board with him, and stayed till the packet began to move.
Then I, together with Brothers Roberts, Wells, and others who were
on board to see him sail, took our leave of our dear friend and bishop,
wishing him a safe and comfortable voyage to Europe, and a useful
visit there. I felt solemn on this occasion in parting with the Doctor,
in whose company I have been from the 16th of last month—more
than twenty days.

As will be seen, Mr. Cooper spent at this time several
weeks in New York and the surrounding villages. The
record left by him is of such historic value that the
reader is again privileged to read it in its original language.
Mr. Cooper says:

Sunday, January 7, 1798. I preached a sacramental discourse for
Brother Roberts at eleven o'clock; and, by request, I preached at
three o'clock a charity sermon for the benefit of schooling poor children.
In the evening I preached at the Two Mile Stone, in a small
preaching-house lately built there. Our Society has four preaching-houses
now in New York. The one on the North River side of the
city [Duane Street] is an elegant house, the best we have in the United
States.

I spent several weeks in York and on Long Island together, in
visiting and preaching among my old friends and acquaintances. I
have been the longest acquainted with the New York Society of any
of our traveling preachers who are now traveling, Bishop Asbury
excepted. I feel my heart much united with them, and my visit I
feel to be comfortable to my soul.

Friday, 12. I visited and preached in Brooklyn. There appears
some prospect in this place, which has been a hard place to work upon.

Friday, 19. I visited Newtown, and stayed four days, principally
at my good friends', Dr. Wainwright and Mr. Staples; preached twice
on Sabbath, with some degree of satisfaction and freedom, to an
attentive and considerably large congregation. I was filled with joy
and sorrow upon this visit. Some are fallen away who used to be
faithful.

Sunday, 28. I preached three times in York with much satisfaction.
I have now preached eighteen times in the city, and three times
on the island, in all, twenty-one times since I came to York, and now
I am to depart, not knowing that we shall meet again.

Monday, 29. Dr. Johnson and I took our leave of York, and our
friends there, in order to return to the South. We both stayed at
Mr. John Mills's, one of the kindest families I ever knew, and with
whom I am very much united. I feel myself under great obligations
to this family for their long, many, and continued favors to me.

On the 2d of February Mr. Cooper returned to Wilmington,
and was warmly greeted by the members of
the charge. He soon was at home again with Captain
Dawson, who during his absence had changed his residence,
and was delighted with his room, where from the
window he could, by the aid of a glass, “see all the
shipping and vessels passing up or down the Delaware,
fourteen or fifteen sail often in view at once.” His
pastoral work was at once resumed, and his congregations,
both on the Sabbath and on Thursday night,
were large and growingly interested in the word of life.
Under date of February 11, he gives an account of the
Society at Newport, which is the first we know of. He
tells us:

I dined to-day at Mr. Lattimore's, in Newport. Our Society here
is small, but I am very much pleased with it. Mrs. Lattimore, Mrs.
Robertson, and Mrs. Miller are three excellent souls. There is but
one white man in Society, that is Mr. Miller. After preaching and
class I returned to Wilmington, and preached again in the evening.
Preaching three times a day, and class, and general society meeting
is rather too much for me.

It was the custom at this time for the Society in Wilmington
to hold a weekly prayer-meeting on Tuesday
night, and after the service was ended a singing-meeting,
to practice on Methodist tunes, was begun, dating
from February 13, 1798. The spirit of revival began to
manifest itself in March, and as the closing days of the
month drew near several were united to the church—the
gay and worldly having thrown off their splendid attire
put on garments of such plainness that “some hardly
knew them.” As Mr. Cooper was a strict observer of
the old rule to set apart Easter Sunday for special
service, he advised the friends on that day, which occurred
on April 8, 1798, to bring their children to
church to be baptized. After the sermon ten persons
were publicly baptized, mostly children.

As the time for holding the Philadelphia Annual
Conference had been changed, Mr. Cooper met his
brethren in the Conference held in Philadelphia June
5, 1798, having served his charge in Wilmington about
five months, and reporting an increase of members—of
whites eight, blacks eleven. The Conference continued
in session four days. Mr. Cooper was reappointed to
Wilmington and Newport “six months” [see Conference
Minutes, 1798, p. 18.—P.]; and after ten days'
visiting among his friends in Philadelphia resumed his
labors, taking his lodging, as before, with Captain
Dawson and family. There was no change in the plan
of his ministrations, except that in Newport preaching
was arranged for once in two weeks, with which was
connected three days of pastoral visitation in that neighborhood.

On Sunday, July 8, after preaching in the morning in
Wilmington, he went to Newport and preached in the
afternoon. At the close of the sermon a violent storm
of wind, rain, thunder and lightning arose, detaining
the congregation in the church while it lasted. The
people were intensely alarmed; and as the windows
were not glazed, the rain drove through the house,
forcing the people to huddle together in different places,
in the corners, in the pulpit, under the pulpit. When
the storm abated he rode to Wilmington, and preached
again at eight o'clock P. M. The day following he returned
to Newport to engage in the three days' visiting,
according to his plan. This method resulted in breaking
down the opposition which some had to Methodism,
for he visited friend and foe alike.

Toward the last of August the yellow fever began to
spread in Wilmington, which so alarmed the people
that as many as could do so prepared to move away
from the town. It had also reappeared in Philadelphia
in a worse form than in the previous years, 1793 and
1797, and in New York and Boston. In September it
continued to increase so rapidly in Wilmington that, by
the middle of the month, Mr. Cooper tells us:

The place seems almost desolated, the people have so moved out.
We [the Methodists—P.] have only about twenty white friends left
in town. I have still to be alone in friend Dawson's house. Here
I read, write, pray, meditate, and sleep; but have to go among the
few remaining friends to get refreshments, etc.

The congregations were greatly reduced, and these
were sometimes led to bewail the solemn state into which
the whole population had entered. Of this the following
will give an illustration. Under date of September 16,
Mr. Cooper says:

To-day, while we were in church, there came three corpses in one
cart to our church-yard, and all of them the daughters of Mr. Osburn.
It very much affected me to see the old parents attending their three
children to the grave. Two of them were married women, the other
not quite a woman grown. They died last night within about one
hour of each other, and certain I am that they are much lamented.
The old people have lost four children with this fever; their only son
died some days ago. There have ten persons died in this little town
during the last twenty-four hours. I was glad to see friend Osburn
and his wife bear their great affliction with so much fortitude of
mind—for, surely, without considerable fortitude, patience, and resignation
they would be overwhelmed by such troubles, especially as
the disease is of such a nature that their nearest friends are generally
afraid to go near them. While I was with them my heart
overflowed, and I was constrained to vent my emotions of soul by
weeping and mourning with those who wept under the great and
most unspeakable distress.

The Society and friends at Newport, realizing the
great danger to which Mr. Cooper was exposed, joined
in an invitation to him to make his home with them,
and would accept no denial. To show how devotedly
true that honorable and distinguished servant of God
was to the flock over whom he had pastoral charge, he
consented, with this proviso, which is given in his own
words. He says:

I told them, provided they would agree for me to come into Wilmington
and preach every week, I would agree to stay principally with
them, as so many of our friends were now there. They wanted me
to give up the idea of coming to Wilmington at all while the pestilence
continued, but I told them I could not; I had a charge here,
and could not relinquish it in time of their distress; it would not do
to forsake the flock in time of their affliction and danger. However,
they agreed to my proposition, and I came out to spend the week
with them. I lodge at Major Robeson's. He and his wife and children
are so kind to me that I consider myself under the greatest obligations
of gratitude. This is much more comfortable to live as I
did in Wilmington. I was obliged there to live all alone, as there
was no house and family which I could conveniently be in. Now I
have three miles to ride in, and then return here to lodge and live.
The solicitude of these dear friends, about my safety and comfort, particularly
Mrs. Robeson and Mrs. Latimer, has made deep impressions
on my heart. May the Lord bless them and theirs for life and for
eternity!

The fever continued in its violence through the
months of September and October. During the prevalence
of this disease, in the early part of September, Mr.
Cooper attended the Cecil Quarterly Meeting. He
was conveyed thither by Mr. John Miller, of Newport.
When they arrived, Saturday, September 8, Rev. Thomas
Ware, the presiding elder of that district, was preaching.
Mr. Ware, discovering Mr. Cooper in the congregation,
soon finished his discourse, and then he and the other
preachers requested their honored brother “to come up
and speak to the people.” He did so, and preached a
sermon to them, taking for his text I Corinthians xiii, 13,
“Now abideth faith, hope, charity.” Thus there were
two sermons delivered during one session of the congregation.

In the afternoon and evening the Quarterly Conference
sat upon a very unpleasant matter, it being the investigation
of charges of immorality against “sundry of our
preachers and members.” The accusants failed to
appear, but the matter was investigated as far as the
inquiries of the body could go. All the accused were
acquitted, and pronounced innocent. These charges had
created great “noise and confusion,” says Mr. Cooper,
“through all the country round.” The Sabbath services
were such as were usual at that period of our Church-life.
Mr. Cooper preached with great success at eleven
o'clock A. M. While attending the Quarterly Meeting
he was, with the other preachers, the guest of Mr.
Carnan.

At the close of the service on Sunday morning Mr.
Cooper visited Mrs. Cowden, the widow of an eminent
clergyman of the Church of England, “a pious, devoted
woman, and a great friend to religion and to
the Methodists.” After dinner they went to Elkton,
where at five o'clock P. M. Mr. Cooper preached in
the Court-house. Thence returning, he, with Rev.
Mr. Bonham, a Methodist preacher, spent the night at
Mrs. Cowden's.

On Friday, the 28th of September, Mr. Cooper received
intelligence of the death of Rev. John Dickins,
of Philadelphia, and his daughter Betsy, both of whom
died of yellow fever September 26, 1798. Though
memoirs of this distinguished Christian minister have
been given in most of our Church histories, the following
tribute is due both to his memory and to that of
his successor in the book-publishing department of our
Church. Says Mr. Cooper, after mentioning the fact
of his death:

These tidings affected me much. In him his family have sustained
an irreparable loss as a husband and a parent. The Church, also,
will sensibly feel his loss as a minister; and the whole Connection
will have cause to lament his death, as he superintended all our
Book Concern in printing, etc. I am very doubtful whether we
shall be able to supply his place with one so well qualified for that
station; so that in many points of view his death will be greatly
felt. However, our loss is his infinite gain. “The Lord gave, and
the Lord hath taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord.” May
I be as prepared to leave the world, when called away, as I believe
he was.

Before closing this chapter it will be pleasing to the
reader to peruse a letter addressed by Rev. Richard
Allen, colored, then a local preacher in the African
Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, and “the
leader” * * See Simpson's Cyclopedia, pp. 26, 27.
in erecting the first African Church in America;
it was built in Philadelphia in 1793. The letter
was prepared under the direction of the official Board
of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, and
intended for Bishop Asbury, but, not knowing his address,
was sent to Mr. Cooper at Wilmington. It is as
follows:

PHILADELPHIA, February 22, 1798.REVEREND SIR:

Knowing it to be our duty to write to you, and [that
we] ought to have done it before now but knew not how to convey it
to you, we take the present opportunity to inform you that there has
a very great revival taken place in our Churches, and is still increasing
and spreading. Our evening meetings mostly continue until 10
or 12 o'clock, and from four to eight persons are convinced and converted
of a night, whites and blacks. Our Churches are crowded,
particularly Bethel. We are now making more seats, and think
shortly we must enlarge the house. It is at Bethel the work is most
general. At prayer-meetings the house is crowded, and persons
under conviction for weeks go there to get converted. The Lord
meets them in the means, and they return to their houses rejoicing.
Such a revival has never taken place in this city before. Many
backsliders are reclaimed, and old believers are getting more zeal for
the glory of God and the salvation of souls. At our love-feast on
the 16th instant, the house was crowded, and continued until after
12 o'clock. Such a time of the power of the Almighty has not been
seen these twenty years here: he has greatly blessed the labors of his
servants. Our class-meetings are crowded and remarkably lively; in
short, we have no barren meetings.

We have the pleasure of informing you that there is a great revival
in all the churches in the city; many are convinced and converted,
and many added to the number of the whites. May the
glory redound to His great name who is the author of it! Mr.
Moore's appointment among us has proved a great blessing. We
have great reason to believe the appointment to be of God, although
he has been afflicted in health for some time, and unable to preach;
but we know this also was permitted by Him who orders all things
well. Mr. Lee is very well in health, and has cause to rejoice
exceedingly that his labors are not in vain in the Lord. Almost all
the people that labor amongst us, and the preachers, are nearly
worn out, the work is so great and the meetings so frequent. And
what is very singular in such a case, we have no opposition or
persecution, the enemies of the work look on with wonder. The Lord
restrains them. Our congregations nearly consist of as many whites
as blacks; many that never attended any place of worship before
come; some through curiosity, and many of them are awakened and
join the Society, so that nearly as many whites as blacks are convinced
and converted to the Lord. We desire to continue in the bands
of love, and as of all the fold of Jesus to strive for the furtherance
of the Gospel: and we hope in the strength of the Lord to be humble
and obedient to those that shall from time to time have the rule over
us in the Lord.

All through the winter, and of darkest nights, and the way being
so muddy for want of pavement, all these things did not hinder the
house from being crowded, the people so thirsted for salvation.
Many of the official members are very useful in our prayer-meetings:
in particular Henry Manley; his labors and pleadings with the Lord
at such times are indefatigable, for when the meetings are almost
broken up he often renews them when there are souls in distress,
and at his pleadings the Lord often sends the blessing down.

We must conclude our imperfect account of the work amongst us,
trusting that He who has begun the work will carry it on to perfection;
and that you, reverend sir, may often have the happiness of
hearing good News from Zion, and that your hands may be often
strengthened in seeing the work flourish on the right and on the left.

Your unworthy servants in Jesus,RICHARD ALLEN,
JUPITER GIBSON.
Signed by order of the Board.N. B.—We humbly hope you will excuse the liberty we take in
sending you this letter, as we intended sending it to the Bishop; but
we found the direction was not right, and we believe you will be glad to hear of the work of God among us.

The foregoing is a faithful copy of the original, with
the exception that the words misspelled and the grammar
in some cases have been corrected, in order that the
reader might understand the meaning designed to be
conveyed. The number of colored members in the
Methodist Society at Philadelphia was, in 1798, one
hundred and eighty-four. They were all under the
pastoral supervision of Revs. Wilson Lee and James
Moore, the preachers assigned to the charge of the station
in Philadelphia.

By reason of the vacancy in the office of Book Steward
made by the death of Rev. John Dickins, announced
above, Bishop Asbury wrote the following letter to
Mr. Cooper:

GERMANTOWN, October 4, 1798.MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

What I have greatly feared for years
hath now taken place. Dickins, the generous, the just, the faithful,
skillful Dickins, is dead! I have had but one day to deliberate;
duty, necessity, calleth me to be precipitant. You will anticipate
what I am going to write. It is to you, and you only, I can look
at present, in the recess of the Philadelphia Conference, to assist Asbury
Dickins in the conducting our work as heretofore. You will
correct the press? You will superintend the state and entries of
the various accounts, that the Connection and the family suffer no
material injury? The Magazine must be continued; five or ten thousand
hymn-books will be wanting immediately, and sundry other
books. Brother Lee [Jesse.—P.] will, if he is furnished with proper
papers, collect what money can be obtained southward. We have
done what we could eastward. My dear brother, I need say but
little; you will now have it in your power to render the Connection
and family such extensive service as your heart, I hope, desires.
I can only appoint at present, that the cause and family may not
suffer. What the Philadelphia Conference will do, is with them.
I hope to be at Isaac Hersay's upon Friday evening: at North
East on Sabbath-day. My horse is worn down. My health is greatly
repaired, but ah! what is life? We have had great prospects
eastward. As soon as the city is accessible you will go in. We
shell send the Minutes for the present year. My long-lost manuscript
journal I left with Betsy Dickins; I must read it over before
any thing can be done. I am afraid to have it sent but by a sure,
hand, by land. I feel resolved, if the Conference pleaseth, to publish
my scraps of journals as my all to the Connection, and answer to
those that trouble me. In this sickly state of things, I must make
haste.

Some letters written by Mr. O'Kelly, now in Philadelphia, to Mr.
Wesley and the Doctor, I wanted to confront that wonderful man.
Brother Lee and some others, with myself, premeditate to attend the
Republican Conference to demand the author of the book entitled
Christicola, and controvert the charges as false.

I am, as ever, thine, FRANCIS ASBURY.

Mr. Cooper received the above letter about three
weeks after it was written. With great reluctance he
submitted to the appointment of the Bishop, and began
at once to prepare for the duties thus given him. On
Sunday, October 28, he preached his last sermons in
Wilmington and Newport as the pastor for that Conference
year.

CHAPTER XIII.
THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN, 1792-1808.

The circulation of religious books began with the
rise of Methodism in America, the followers of Wesley
being inspired by the counsel of that godly man, who
said to his preachers: “See that every Society is supplied
with books, some of which ought to be in every
house.” Owing to the difficulty of obtaining a supply
of Mr. Wesley's publications for a field then so distant
as America was from England, a reprint of some of
them was made in this country before the organization
of the first American Methodist Conference in 1773.
At the session of that body the first query was, “Ought
not the authority of Mr. Wesley, and that Conference,
[the British Wesleyan.—P.] to extend to the preachers
and people in America, as well as in Great Britain and
Ireland?”

The answer was, “Yes.”

Of the six rules agreed upon by the Conference were
the following:

Rule 4. None of the preachers in America to reprint any of Mr.
Wesley's books without his authority (when it can be gotten) and
the consent of their brethren.

5. Robert Williams to sell the books he has already printed, but to
print no more, unless under the above restrictions. * * Methodist Conferences, vol. i, 1813.

Nine years elapsed before any further mention was
made in the Annual Conference Minutes of the book
interest of the societies, yet it had so grown that a revenue
was obtained by the sale of books which was devoted
to the support of the itinerant preachers. The
writer has before him a manuscript copy of the Minutes
of 1782, issued before any Conference Minutes had
been printed, and, though remarkably preserved, one
hundred and four years old. The difference between
the item about to be quoted from that copy and the
printed edition of the Minutes of 1813 is such that a
comparison should be made by a close student of our
early history. From the MSS. we have:

Quest. 11. What shall be done to get a regular and impartial supply
for the maintenance of the preachers?

Ans. Let every thing they receive, either in money or clothing, be
valued by the stewards at quarter meeting, and an account of the
preacher's deficiencies given in to bring to conference, that he may
be supplied from the profits arising from the books and the conference
collections.

It will thus be seen that some systematic method had
already been adopted by the Societies and Conference
regulating the sale of books and the disposition of the
percentage raised thereby.

No further mention is made, in the Conference Minutes,
of the book interest until the session of the General
Conference in December, 1784, at which the Methodist
Episcopal Church was organized, and “A Form of Discipline”
adopted “for the Ministers, Preachers, and
other Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in
America.” In the deliberations of that body the questions
and answers, to which they agreed, were framed
by Mr. Wesley himself. The fiftieth and fifty-first
questions, with the answers, are thus given:

Quest. 50. Why is it that the people under our care are not better?”

Ans. Other reasons may concur, but the chief is because we are
not more knowing and more holy.

Quest. 51. But why are not we more knowing?

Ans. Because we are idle. We forget our very first Rule, “Be
diligent. Never be unemployed. Never be triflingly employed.
Never while away time; neither spend any more time at any place
than is strictly necessary.”

I fear there is altogether a fault in this matter, and that few of us
are clear. Which of you spends as many hours a day in God's work
as you did formerly in man's work? We talk, talk, or read history,
or what next comes to hand. We must, absolutely must, cure this
evil, or betray the cause of God.

But how? 1. Read the most useful books, and that regularly and
constantly. Steadily spend all the morning in this employ, or at least
five hours in four-and-twenty.

“But I have no taste for reading.” Contract a taste for it by use,
or return to your trade.

“But I have no books.” We desire the assistants will take care
that all the large Societies provide Mr. Wesley's Works for the use
of the preachers.

But what shall we do for the rising generation? Who will labor
for them? Let him who is zealous for God and the souls of men begin
now.

1. Where there are the children whose parents are in Society meet
them at least an hour every week.2. Talk with them every time you see any at home.3. Pray in earnest for them.4. Diligently instruct and vehemently exhort all parents at their
own houses.5. Preach expressly on education. “But I have no gift for this.”
Gift or no gift, you are to do it, else you are not called to be a Methodist
preacher. Do it as you can, till you can do it as you would.
Pray earnestly for the gift, and use the means for it.

The tendency of such pointed legislation was to increase
the demand for books as the Church grew in
numbers, territorial extent, and power; and every minister
who had been admitted into holy orders was expected
to secure such a supply as was needed.

The work had become now so important that in
1789 Philip Cox and John Dickins were appointed
“book stewards,” the former for that half of the Conference
territory which extended from Washington to
Gloucester, embracing forty-eight circuits and stations;
and Mr. Dickins for that half which extended from
Calvert Circuit, Md., to Cumberland, in, Tennessee, embracing
forty-nine circuits and stations. In 1790 the
whole work was committed to John Dickins, and the
title of his office was changed from that of Book Steward
to that of “Superintendent of the Printing and
Book-business.” This was also retained the years following.
By the action of the Conferences of 1791 the
surplusage of the Preachers' Fund was deposited “in
the Book Fund.”** See Minutes, 1791, edition 1813.

In 1792, the title Book, Concern first appears in the
Conference Minutes; it is in connection with the following
question:

Quest. 16. What is the sum total for which the Book Concern is
now accountable to the Preachers' Fund?

Ans. £182 16s. 3d.

The quotation is taken from the “Minutes taken at
the several Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in America for the year 1792. Price, one-sixteenth
of a dollar. Philadelphia: printed by Parry
Hall, No 149, in Chestnut Street; and sold by John
Dickins, No. 182 Race Street. M,DCC,XCII.”

The edition of the Minutes as issued in 1813 has no
mention of the above historic fact.

In 1793 the Book Concern was, by the Minutes of
that year, declared to be accountable to the Preachers'
Fund for £301 17s. 2d. In 1794 it was £415 7s 8d.
In 1795 it was £400 17s. 9d.; in 1796, £419 0s. 11/2d.
The money account herein set forth in pounds, shillings,
and pence, was in Pennsylvania currency, according to
the Minutes of the Conference of 1791, as published in
the edition of 1813, entitled, “Methodist Conferences.”
The publishers, Daniel Hitt and Thomas Ware, thus
represent it:

Quest. 13. What is contributed toward the fund for the superannuated
preachers and the widows and orphans of preachers?

Ans. £61, 11s. 2d., P. C.

Quest. 14. How was this applied?

Ans. Some part of it is lodged in the respective districts, and the
remainder deposited in the book fund.

The original Minutes, as published from year to year,
do not mention the class of currency on which the reckoning
was based. After the General Conference of 1796
the Chartered Fund, which was established in the place
of the Preachers' Fund, held the indebtedness of the
Book Concern to the Preachers' Fund by its transfer to
that organization. From that time no mention is made,
in the original or compiled Minutes of the Annual Conferences,
of the amount of indebtedness by the Book
Concern to that fund.

It has been generally held by all our Church historians
that John Dickins, who was stationed in New York
from 1783 to 1789, with the exception of one year—1785,
when he, was appointed to Bertie Circuit in Virginia—was continued in that charge for five years in order that
he might superintend and direct the book business.
Such, we think, is not the case. Mr. Dickins throughout
the course of his ministerial career in America was
so situated that he was not subject to the changes of
his co-laborers. He was admitted on trial in 1777, and
appointed to North Carolina as his circuit. He was admitted
in to full connection and classified among the “assistants”
in 1778, and appointed to Brunswick, Va. In
1779, '80 his appointment was at Roanoke, two years.
In 1781, '82 he desisted from traveling. In 1783 he
re-entered the traveling connection and was stationed
with Samuel Spragg in New York, where he remained
until 1785. Being returned to New York in 1786, he
continued there also the year following; but, having in
1787 been ordained to the eldership in the Methodist
Episcopal Church, he, with Henry Willis, also an elder,
had charge of New York, New Rochelle, and Long Island
Circuits. In 1788 he had charge solely of the Society
in New York. To this statement must be added
the stronger facts: that no publications, after the order
to print such documents as the Conferences might
agree upon, bear the imprint of his supervision. The
Minutes of the Christmas Conference of 1784 were
printed by Charles Cist; those of the Annual Conference
of 1785, in Baltimore, by John Haynes; of 1786,
in Baltimore, by William Goddard; of 1787, in Baltimore,
by John Haynes; and of 1789, in New York by
William Ross. Not until he had opened the book business
in Philadelphia, in 1790, did he have the supervision
of the printing.

When stationed in Philadelphia, in 1789, he was the
only traveling preacher appointed to that charge, and,
to show his relation to the ministerial work therein, he
is set forth as elder; and then follows his designation
as “Book Steward.” He was not as yet general superintendent.
Philip Cox, stationed at Gloucester, was
also set forth as “elder and book steward.” Each of
these held the same official relation to the Church.** See Minutes for 1789. Printed by William Ross, New York, pp. 7, 8.

In 1790 the official title of “Superintendent of the
Printing and Book Business,” as above stated, was given
to John Dickins, located in Philadelphia, while Philip
Cox and William Thomas, elders, were appointed to be
“Traveling Book Stewards,” the former for the southern
part of the Methodist field; the latter for the peninsula.
It was during this year, therefore, that the
Book Concern was definitely opened, under the individual
supervision of one man. The appointment of traveling
book stewards was continued until 1798. In this
service Philip Cox was employed four years. Of him
is given the following from the Minutes of the Conferences
of 1794, under

Quest. 11. Who have died this, year?

Ans. Philip Cox.

His last services were great in circulating so many hundred books
of religious instruction. On his return from a visit to the westward
he was attacked with a disease in his bowels, accompanied with a
fever and delirium. He observed on Sunday, the 1st of September,
that it was such a day of peace and comfort to his soul as he had
seldom seen. Tuesday he reached home, after which he continued
delirious till, on Sunday, the 8th, he departed in peace.

Besides him William Thomas served in the same
work one year; John Hutt, three years; Salathiel Weeks,
four years; John Baldwin, four years; Thomas Bowen,
one year; and Solomon Covington, two years. From
this it will be seen that during the first six years of the
existence of the Book Concern, from 1790 to 1796,
there were seven sub-agents of Mr. Dickins, the superintendent,
sent out into the field by regular appointment
of the Church authorities at Conference to aid in
the circulation of books and the upbuilding of the book
interests of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America.

The publication of Methodist and other religious
works went forward also in 1790, and during the year
a room was secured by Mr. Dickins for the deposit and
sale of books. The house was situated at No. 43 Fourth
Street. In 1792 the house was on Race Street, No. 182.
In 1794 Mr. Dickins removed his stock to No. 44 North
Second Street, near Arch; in 1795 to No. 50 North Second
Street, where the business was conducted until after
Mr. Dickins's death in 1798. The printing was done
in separate houses: first by Prichard & Hall, in Market
Street; then by Parry & Hall, in Chestnut Street; then
by Henry Tuckniss, Church Alley; then by William
W. Woodward, Chestnut Street near Front; and finally,
during the continuance of the Concern in Philadelphia,
by Solomon W. Conrad, Pewter-Platter Alley,
No.22.

The first publication issued by Mr. Dickins was The
Arminian Magazine, Vol. I., at 12s. a volume. Then,
1790 to 1794, books were issued in the following
order:

1. Rev. Mr. Wesley's Notes on the New Testament, in 3 volumes,
well bound, 1790, 1791, at 17s.2. Thomas a Kempis, bound, 2s.3. Primitive Physic, bound, 3s.4. The Form of Discipline for the Methodist Church, with treatises on
Predestination, Perseverance, Christian Perfection, Baptism, etc., all
bound together, 3s. 6d.5. The Experiences of about twenty British Methodist Preachers, well
bound and lettered, 5s. 7 1/2d.6. The Experience and Travels of Mr. Freeborn Garrettson, well
bound.7. A pocket Hymn Book, containing three hundred hymns, well
bound and lettered, 3s. 9d.8. The excellent Works of the Rev. Mr. John Fletcher, published
one volume at a time; the whole will contain about six volumes; the
1st, 2d, and 3d volumes now published, well bound and lettered, at
5s. 7 1/2d. per volume.9. An Extract on Infant Baptism, stitched, 9d.10. An Abridgment of Mrs. Rowe's Devout Thoughts, bound, 1s. 10 1/2d11. Children's Instructions, stitched, 6d.12. A Funeral Discourse on the Death of that great Divine, the Rev.
John Wesley, stitched, 11d.13. The Saint's Everlasting Rest, well bound, 5s. 7 1/2d.14. Minutes of the Methodist Conferences, 4d.15. The distinguishing marks of a work of the Spirit of God, stitched, 8d.16. The first volume of Mr. Asbury's Journal; containing three hundred and fifty-six pages duodecimo, well bound and lettered, 5s. 7 1/2d.17. The Solemn Warnings of the Dead; or, An Admonition to Unconverted
Sinners, by Joseph Alleine. Also, Baxter's Call to the Unconverted, bound together, 3s.18. The Life of Mr. Thomas and the Journal of Mr. John Nelson, bound together and lettered, 5s. 7 1/2d.

NOTE.—The price of the books in the foregoing catalogue is Pennsylvania
currency.

The list of books above presented was issued by
John Dickins, and published at the close of the volume
indicated above as No; 18. There is bound with this
volume, not noticed, however, by Mr. Dickins, as the
final tract, A Race for Eternal Life, by the Rev. Mr.
Fletcher, published, as the title page informs us, by
John Dickins in Philadelphia, in 1792. I have also before
me the third volume of Mr. Wesley's Explanatory
Notes, issued in Philadelphia, and “sold by John Dickins,
No. 43 Fourth Street, near the corner of Race
Street, 1791.” During this period volume ii of the Arminian
Magazine was also issued.

As seen in the preceding chapter, Mr. Dickins died
from yellow fever in September, and Bishop Asbury
appointed Mr. Cooper to fill, the vacancy occasioned by
that death. As the pestilence was still raging, the
duties of the office were not assumed until the fever
was abated. Mr. Cooper spent the interval in a visit
to his relatives and friends in Delaware, East Maryland,
and Annapolis, Md.

On the 1st of December he arrived at Philadelphia,
as he tells us, “in order to see about our book business.”
The next day, being the Sabbath, he preached once. On
Monday, the 3d, he began to acquaint himself with the
affairs of the Book Concern; the result was as follows.
He says:

Through this week and the week following I was engaged in
looking into the affairs of the book business. And I find it in such
a situation that I am not inclined to engage in it, as agent, this
winter. There is a considerable incumbrance on it, which I am not
willing to take upon myself; and the executors of Brother Dickin's
estate will not give me the property on hand unless I will first
assume the payment of the debt due from the Concern, which is
more than $4,500. I proposed that I would be accountable for as
much as the amount of property put into my hands, or that I would
be accountable for all the property which I received either in books
or money, in the payment by the different persons in debt to the
concern; but that I should not agree to pay a large debt upon the
credit of debts due to the Concern—scattered abroad from New
Hampshire to Georgia—and some of it in very doubtful hands and
of many years' standing. So I, of course, do not engage in the business
till further instructions, and a suitable stipulation between me
and the Conference, or between the Bishop and me. However, at
the request of friends, I agree to stay in the city this winter and
serve the Church in the line of the ministry. The book business will
be at a stand for awhile; yet I do not know that any great injury
will be sustained thereby, as the accounts can be settled and the
moneys due collected, after which it may start again.

Mr. Cooper immediately advised Bishop Asbury of
his determination. His letter was received by the
Bishop while at Charleston, South Carolina, and a reply
was immediately made. It is as follows:

JANUARY 8, 1799.
MY VERY DEAR FRIEND:

I anticipated the difficulties that would
come in your way of conducting the Book Concern. It was not in
my power to stipulate with you for what sum, and for what time, you
should have the management. We feel ourselves under doubts with
respect to remitting money without special assurances of the application
and proper security for our property. We cannot desire any
person to do our work for nothing; yet we want it punctually done.
Brother Haskins's and Asbury Dickins's letters came while the Conference
was sitting in this city. Conference voted, hit or miss, to
carry on the work forthwith, and nominated several books to be
printed immediately. Conference agreed that a committee should
consider the contents of your letter, received this day. We feel our
doubts concerning the printing of more books at present. We have
some scruples upon our minds if it will be possible to carry on the
work in Philadelphia in future. The collecting of money will be
attended to by Brother Lee, with the greatest activity and punctuality.
If you stay in town, I wish you would see books sent to
orders, that we may sell off with great speed. I judge it will not be
improper for you, upon the side and safety of the Connection, to keep
a list of money paid to the executors, and how it is applied; and you
may keep an account of all the books you send out, and receive the
cash for them; and what you shall have for your Service you must
leave to the Conference. How to talk at the distance of seven hundred
miles is not easy. My infirmity, and the general abuse I have
had from men that have risen up against us, and the great suspicions
raised in the minds of some of the ministry still with us, maketh me
very cautious in my movements.

If I should not write to Brother Haskins, you may show him this
letter and welcome.

I am, with respect and heartfelt concern, thy brother in Jesus,FRANCIS ASBURY.

On the same sheet are also the following:

CHARLESTON, January 9, 1799.MY VERY DEAR FRIEND:

You see how large a letter I have written
with my own hand upon a broken sheet of paper. When I began I had
no thought of writing so long a letter. I have been employed in dictating
near three hundred pages. In answer to Mr. O'Kelly's spite and
malice. Conference time we have had but six boarders in our house,
and frequently in my room, and great part of the Conference visiting.
We have had great peace I wish, if a vessel should offer, my letters
in packet may be sent to me at Norfolk or Newbern. I shall be at
the former in March. The work of God is under a pleasing growth
in the South.

I am, with continued respect to thee,F. ASBURY.CHARLESTON, January 9, 1799.DEAR BROTHER:

I have liberty from Mr. Asbury to write to you,
and request you to have the Minutes of the last year's Conferences
printed, from one to two thousand—copies any number you please,
not exceeding two thousand; and, if the Philadelphia Conference
should disapprove of it, I will engage to pay you the money that
shall be expended, and take the whole concern on myself. If you
are unwilling to have them printed, please to let me know of it
against I get to Baltimore, and, I expect, I shall have them printed
at Baltimore. I think it is quite likely the book business will be
removed to Baltimore. Asbury Dickins had the copy of the Minutes.

I remain yours in love,JESSE LEE.P.S. I expect to collect a good deal of book money, but shall feel
unwilling to send it forward till I can hear that some Methodist man
is willing to receive it and answer for it. If you undertake that part
of the business I will gladly remit the money to you as soon as possible.
I expect to be in Newbern by the middle of February, and in
Norfolk the last of March.I expect to have $400, or $500 in my hands for the Book Concern
in four days. J. L.

Mr. Cooper, taking his residence with Mr. Doughty
No. 352 Front Street, engaged in ministerial labors,
and, on Sunday, January 6, 1799, preached a funeral
sermon on the life and character of the Rev. John
Dickins (which was taken down in shorthand by a
Mr. Carpenter, who took down the debates in
Congress), and afterward consented to its publication,
giving the copy to Mrs. Dickins and her children, to
be printed for their benefit. Asbury Dickins determined
to put it through the press at once.

On Thursday, May 2, 1799, Mr. Cooper was with his
brethren, about forty in number, in the Baltimore
Annual Conference. During the session Bishop Asbury
requested him to agree to engage in the book
business for the Connection, and proposed to have the
conference called at an early hour (though the body
had formally closed its session previously) that they
might indorse the appointment of the bishop. Mr.
Cooper says:

I told him it was not worth while to call the Conference, for I
could not agree to engage at all; at any rate I could not at present.
So he declined calling the Conference.

On Thursday, June 6, the Philadelphia Conference
was opened, and remained in session until the following
Tuesday. It took action in regard to the Book Concern,
of which Mr. Cooper thus speaks:

During the Conference the brethren proceeded to choose an agent
for the Connection, to carry on the book business in the place of our
late friend, J. Dickins. The vote, which was taken by ballot, was
almost unanimous for myself—but two dissenting votes, and one of
them I gave myself. Thus I was the choice of the brethren. But,
ah, how I felt in agreeing to the appointment! I submitted to the
desire of my brethren with much reluctance, and take it as my cross.
I only engage for one year at a time.

Before the close of the Conference session the newly
elected agent prepared an address “To the Preachers
and Friends of the Methodist Episcopal Church,”
which received the indorsement of the Conference, and
was circulated throughout the Church by being published
in the Conference Minutes for the year 1799. It
abounds in utterances of such wisdom and appositeness
to the work assumed, that it is here reproduced. * * See Conference Minutes, 12mo edit., 1799, pp. 22-24.
It is as follows:

DEAR BRETHREN:

Bishop Asbury and the Philadelphia Conference
have made choice of me as agent for the Connection, to superintend
our Book Concern, as editor and general book steward; and as I
have been prevailed upon, though with reluctance, to accept the appointment,
I consider it my duty to address you upon the subject.

It is well understood that the book business among us is designed
for the excellent purpose of spreading and cultivating moral and
religious knowledge; hence we confine ourselves to the publication
of books, and pamphlets upon subjects of morality and divinity, more
especially such as treat on experimental and practical religion. It is
also known that the pecuniary profits arising from the business are
appropriated to the exclusive benefit of the Connection, as an auxiliary
to us in the important work of spreading the gospel of our
salvation the more extensively through the world. From these considerations
it must appear to be the duty of all our friends to promote
the Book Concern by all convenient means and religious endeavors.
What can an agent do in this business without the mutual endeavors
of preachers and members in selling, buying, and circulating the
books? Also, it is indispensably necessary that punctuality be observed
in making remittances, that the agent may be able to make
his payments to the paper-makers, printers, bookbinders, etc. Every
one who has money in hands due to the Connection should forward
it without delay. And I hope that orders for books will be sent on;
which I will endeavor to answer as soon and so far as the returns I
receive will enable me to do.

In consequence of numerous drafts formerly made upon the Concern
for different purposes, and the great neglect in making remittances,
the business is considerably in debt, and somewhat embarrassed.
When I engaged in the business I had not one dollar of cash in hand
belonging to the Concern, and have received but few remittances
since. There are large sums due, and I most earnestly solicit the
brethren to diligence and punctuality. The business may answer a
noble purpose to the Connection, provided the brethren are spirited
and industrious in promoting of it. Some of our brethren have acted
laudably and praiseworthily in this business. I wish the same could
be said of them all.

It is my deliberate opinion that no other drafts whatever should
be made on the Concern until its debts are paid, and the capital be
sufficient to carry on the business without further embarrassments.
O, brethren, help this important work! I also advise, in all cases of
transfer of books, debts, etc., from one to another, that the brethren
be regular and particular in the same; and that they give correct
notice thereof to the agent here, with a receipt or certificate from the
person to whom a transfer may be made. If a transfer be made at
any time to an improper person, it ought to be considered that the
agent here may refuse releasing the one and holding the other. In
cases where it can be done, the brethren, in all exchanges of books
or transfers, should settle them among themselves, and not trouble
the agent with them. There have been inconveniences arising from
want of attention in this matter. If one preacher leave a circuit
with books in it, he should have them collected at one place, and
make out an exact inventory of them; and the preacher who succeeds
him should, in duty, take charge of the books, as per inventory, and
advise the agent accordingly.

I have opened my accounts, and expect, to make out bills, etc., in
dollars and cents. This will be easier to the brethren throughout
the United States; for dollars and cents every-where the same,
but pounds, shillings, and pence vary in the different States.

On the day following the reading of the above
address the Conference adjourned, and the preachers
repaired to their different stations. In a few days Mr.
Cooper rented a book-room, and entered upon the work
assigned him. He says:

But, ah, the trouble I have in closing up and settling the old concern,
and commencing the new! Were the fatigue and labor to continue
as it now is, I would not carry it on for any consideration: but
I hope it will be easier by and by.

In two months' time, however, another embarrassment
was thrown upon him. The former tenant of the property
leased by him had moved out without having paid
the rent; and, as the law of the city corporation was
such that any person's property found in the house
abandoned under such conditions was liable for the
rent, the Connection property was in danger of being
seized for back rent on the house. To avoid this the
agent on Tuesday, August 13, at one o'clock P. M.,
“called a cart, and got a few friends to assist” him,
and moved all the books and papers to another place,
thereby securing them.

The interests of the Book Concern were now carried
forward with earnest zeal, the editor and superintendent
regarding it as his own business, to which all
other ecclesiastical duties were subordinate. In September
the yellow fever had again appeared in Philadelphia.
“All business was stopped; and about half,
or more than half, of the people were moved out.”
Under this condition of things there was a suspension
of the printing and sale of books, etc., in the city for
271
several weeks; the work, however, was resumed in the
latter part of October, and pressed forward.

On the 6th of May, 1800, the General Conference
began its session in Baltimore, Md. There were one
hundred and fifteen preachers who were members
thereof. The session lasted until May 20. Ezekiel
Cooper was continued as superintendent of the Book
Concern, and its interests were placed under the supervision
of the Philadelphia Annual Conference, as before.
After the adjournment of the General Conference, the
Philadelphia Annual Conference was held at Smyrna,
Del., beginning June 2. From thence Mr. Cooper
began to visit the several Annual Conferences accessible
to him, year by year, in behalf of the Book Concern.
Thus having, at the close of the Philadelphia Conference,
returned to Philadelphia, and spent, says he, “better
than a week fixing and arranging the Connection
business, during which time I got the Minutes of the
General Conference printed, Wednesday, June 18, I
took stage for New York Annual Conference.” He
remained there, several days, and then came back, July 1,
to Philadelphia, and engaged in forwarding the “Connection
printing and book business.”

During this year a serious and ugly dispute arose in
the society of Methodists in Philadelphia, which also
much affected Mr. Cooper, and opened up a course of
opposition that finally led to the removal of the Book
concern from that city. It is here alluded to solely for
the purpose of putting the reader in possession of points
that will enable him to understand the import of some
letters that are introduced. The first of these is from
Bishop Asbury, followed by a note from Bishop Whatcoat
on the same sheet of paper.

MY DEAR COOPER:

Grace and peace be with thy spirit. I have
meditated a letter to you for some months. We have had a gracious
season in Conference for five days. Brother Blanton is located.
Stith (Meade—P.) is to preside in the State of Georgia, James Jenkins
in South Carolina. Brother Blanton showed me an answer of $1,000,
by John Harper. William M'Kendree, you perhaps know by this,
commands in the West. John Kobler was appointed to the Richmond
District, but I fear he hath failed. I heard that P. Bruce was at his
father's in North Carolina I desired him, upon his return, to see if
J. Kohler was upon his station; if not, to get it himself; if Brother
Kobler was in place, I desired Brother Bruce to go to Norfolk. We
will do what little we can to collect for you; but we might as well
climb to the moon as attempt to get some of those debts.

I thank you for the advice given of the middle ground. We have
some time to consider upon it between this and the Yearly Conference,
when it will probably be brought before the Yearly Conference;
at least, we may suppose, the Presiding Elder and Elder will implead
each other at the Conference.

I had no doubt but you would feel like wishing to be out of the
business of book-making; but, my dear, it is not so easily done. You
will have many a shot. I say in all company, when I speak, that you
are deeply concerned for the interest of the Connection, and go very
near the wind in all your movements for our good. You are easy of
access, I have found; readily pacified by a word or a line; you are
not a man of intrigue, but open, and therefore I love you. The very
thought that I gave you a nomination to your appointment is enough;
those that dislike me will disapprove of you. I advise you, as a
friend, to retire into your own business as much as possible. I only
wish that those who think hardly of you or me could, if it were right,
be punished with our places they so much envy; but many would.
God forbid! and we also will oppose it.

I think our Scripture Catechism is one of the best in the world, but
it could be mended by you, and laid before the next Conference in the
amendment. I gave the outlines to John Dickins. I think now if
you propound in your own language questions such as these, What is
the duty of parents? What is the duty of husbands, wives, children,
ministers, rulers, subjects, masters, servants? What is the
duty of Christians one to another? and so on, and answer them wholly
in Scripture, it would, in my view, be most excellent. We could
enforce catechising if we had a complete guide.

Thine, F. ASBURY. CAMDEN, January 7, 1801.

Bishop Whatcoat's note was:

MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

We spoke to the Conference about the
ten dollars you reminded us of, but, do not come at it. You must set
it down to the Sinking Fund. The books were spoiled and scattered.
We are concerned for the peace of the Church; much prayer, patience,
and forbearance, with great moderation, appear to be needed
at this time. What need have we to “stand like an iron pillar
strong.” May the good Lord bless you, and all the Lord's people.

Thine in love,R. WHATCOAT.

In March another letter was written to Mr. Cooper
by Bishop Asbury, and illustrates the great care that
servant of God exercised in his movements in regard to
the Church over which he presided, and her interests.
Thus he wrote:

MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

If we do for you, in return you will
serve us. We wish to take the following, or a better plan, if it can
be found, through Jersey:

Monday, June 8, to leave Philadelphia and preach at Clonmell,
three o'clock P. M.

Tuesday, June 9, to preach at Salem, two o'clock.

Wednesday, June 10, to preach at Bethel, two o'clock.

Thursday, June 11, to preach at New Mills, three o'clock.

Friday, June 12, to preach at Emley's, two o'clock; but I must be
at Joseph Hutchinson's that night.

Saturday, June 13, to preach at Brunswick, twelve o'clock; Drake's,
five o'clock.

Sunday, June 14, to preach at Elizabethtown all the Sabbath.

You will consult Brother Sharp, and do the best you can. I am
not able to say what places ought to be in the vacancies, but we
must be at Joseph Hutchinson's and Brunswick, and Drake's and
Elizabethtown, that we may come in time to the York Conference.

We could not collect any money from Thomas Bowen. According
to his settlement with Jesse Lee, he holds the Connection in debt to
him. Brother Whatcoat hath received but very little of your money
as yet, but he has sent you one hundred and twenty dollars.
Forty-nine you will he pleased to pay Sister Dickins from Henry
Bradford, as a part of payment he hath obtained for land sold in
North Carolina; the remnant you will enter to Brother Whatcoat's
credit, as he expecteth to receive, money of yours at the Virginia
Conference.

100 dollars United States Bank, No. 129.

20 dollars Bank of New York, No. 334.

This small sum will be of use to you, but the money Brother Whatcoat
will collect, of yours, will be of no use to him, only a burden.

I am, with respect, yours,FRANCIS ASBURY.
PORTSMOUTH, March 27, 1801.$10020—120
49 to E. Dickins.
—
71 to R. Whatcoat.I have enclosed the twenty dollar bill in a letter to T. Haskins
for you, F. ASBURY.

The Annual Conference held in Philadelphia June 1,
1801, was brought to face the difficulty which had arisen
among the Methodists in that city, and sought to compose
it. The effort was not successful, however, and
soon after the adjournment of the Conference a number
of members withdrew in a body, and set up their worship
in the old City Academy. Both preachers and
members were held to be separates from the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Mr. Cooper now opposed the separates,
and used all his influence in upbuilding the Society
at St. George's and Ebenezer. The opposition to
him by reason of this became more violent, and, as
they regarded him as “the leader, the counsellor, and
the mainspring or organ of those they were opposing,”
every method that could be devised was undertaken to
have him and the Book Concern removed from that
city to another.

Mr. Cooper, notwithstanding the opposition, applied
himself diligently to the duties before him, and kept up
a correspondence with Bishop Asbury, thereby availing
himself of his counsel, and keeping the Bishop in full
information concerning things transpiring around him.
A third letter from the Bishop will show this. Read
the following:

CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA, December 31, 1801.MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

I have received your letters, for which
I thank you, and for other attentions. When we were told that the
debt was paid [that is, due by the Church in Philadelphia—P.] I
wondered by what mint or magic you had collected $4,000 in four
months; but when we had chapter and verse the wonder ceased. O
zeal! zeal! what will it not do when made elastic by opposition! I
hope the next thing will be to purchase, as perhaps you may at a low
price, or build, a house for the preachers, after more than thirty years.

I find that the book market is good in the South, and the presiding
elders and preachers are very diligent. I believe we need say but little.
As to Bowen and Weeks, I doubt if any settlement to purpose
will ever be made. I do not wish to meddle much in the Book Concern;
we have so many cooks, and some very unskillful. I pushed
three books into the press, and I shall expect reflections as long as
they are in circulation, if I am in circulation. As a friend, I would
advise you (as I am one that has eyes and ears every-where) to keep
close to Fletcher's and Wesley's most excellent parts. As to my
Journals, I feel my delicacies about having them printed at all in
my lifetime; it may only put it into the power of my enemies to abuse
me, as Mr. O'Kelley has so often done; while at the same time my
hands will be bound by inability or some local influences.

I am sorry to be a burden to my friends or the Connection. I do
not wish to crowd myself or the Connection with more services than
they call for. I was willing at the request of some of my special
friends, to submit an impression of the Journal to the press; 'tis true
the General Conference approved it, and it was my wish it should go
out in numbers; but it appeared to me that the general mind of the
General Conference was that it should come out in a volume. I have
been taught to understand that a printer should point; and if he could
not point he could not print. I do not chose to print any man's Journal
but my own. My language in preaching and writing is my own—good or bad. If you choose to send out the number, upon good paper,
I shall submit; but I have been making up my mind closely to inspect,
and strike out what, upon close thinking, I shall disapprove,
and lay them by to be printed after my death, or to let them die with
me. About twenty pages in four months' traveling will not be a
great burden to the press. My first part was transcribed by one that
did not understand my writing.

As to the Hymn Book, I can only say we have such a republic of
critics and pointers, they will do as they please; but, I presume, if
you had a thousand more to send into every district than you have
sent, they would soon be sold; only let the work be done well, and
there is no doubt of the sale of our books. The Presbyterians and
others will purchase our books.

To the Trustees of St. George's Church in Philadelphia:

RESPECTED BRETHREN:

I thank you for the attention you have
manifested to me in your address, and account of payments. I rejoice
exceedingly that we are just; may we also be generous, and do
nothing through strife and vainglory. I hope your zeal and charity
will provide a house for your preachers, and prevent a moth-eating
rent. Let us pray much, and love the more; then we shall live holy
and die happy. Farewell!

Since I began this letter Brother Whatcoat arrived with your letter,
an apology for paper. Your pardon is granted. See, thou art
made whole. It is generally granted our books are the best, intrinsically
and extrinsically. Only let us keep them so.

Yours, for Christ's sake,FRANCIS ASBURY.

The account of the payment of the debt due by the
Society in Philadelphia, which had been created under
the financial administration of those who now had withdrawn,
is briefly given here for the reason that the book
agent, Mr. Cooper, was largely instrumental in securing
the money needed therefor, though he thereby added
to the growing spirit of opposition to his carrying forward
the book business in that city. The separatists,
during the year, bought a part of the “Old Academy”
for a church, and organized a society which afterward
became one of the most important and valuable of the
Philadelphia Methodist Episcopal Churches—the Union
Methodist Episcopal Church.

At the Philadelphia Annual Conference held in May,
1802, they became connected again with the Methodist
Episcopal Church, received a preacher from the Conference
for their pastor, and gradually a spirit of harmony
brought the two Societies into the relation of
ecclesiastical fellowship and brotherly union.

The interests of the Book Concern were still pressed
forward by Mr. Cooper, and much to his satisfaction
and that of his friend, Bishop Asbury, improvements
were made in every department. Prior to 1802 no
distinctive and separate Annual Conferences, though so
called in general parlance, existed, but the whole
Methodist territory was divided up into districts. Mr.
Cooper's power of reducing things to system now was
made manifest, and thenceforth, from 1802, the Minutes
represented the Conferences by name, and designated
the districts within the bounds of each Annual Conference.
The number of Conferences was seven. 1. Western:
embracing Kentucky and Holston Districts. 2. South Carolina:
Georgia, Seleuda, and Camden Districts. 3. Virginia:
Salisbury, Newbern, Norfolk, and
Richmond Districts. 4. Baltimore: Alexandria, Pittsburgh,
and Baltimore Districts. 5. Philadelphia: Delaware
and Eastern Shore, Philadelphia, New Jersey,
and Albany Districts. 6. New York: New York,
Pittsfield, New London, Vershire, and Canada Districts.
7. New England: Boston and Maine Districts.

Among the appointments in the Philadelphia Conference,
we have the following:

Philadelphia District, Thomas Ware, Presiding Elder. Ezekiel
Cooper, Superintendent of the Printing and Book Concern. The
preachers stationed in Philadelphia and the presiding elder of the
district are appointed the book committee.

That committee was composed of Thomas Ware,
John McClaskey, and George Roberts. The following
paragraphs, apparently extracted from some report of
the Superintendent of the Book Concern, are here inserted
as belonging to this sketch of Mr. Cooper's work
as such superintendent and editor:

The editor would suggest to the bishops and Conferences the
propriety in future of entering the return of members under the head
of each district respectively, as in the case of the stations, that
the circuits and numbers of each district may stand together. It is
morally impossible to ascertain the number in the respective States;
in sundry instances the circuits take in a part of two States, part of the
numbers being in one and part in the other. Not only so, but the returns
this year, in manuscript, were so entered that the editor could not
in all cases ascertain to which of the States the circuits belonged,
and consequently he has thought it proper to print the names of the
circuits and the numbers without mentioning the States. ** Minutes taken at the several Annual Conferences, etc., 1802.

It is hoped that our preachers and brethren will continue their
laudable endeavors to promote the interests of our Book Concern. It
is well known that our principal design in this business is to promote
the spiritual welfare of our fellow creatures by disseminating
among them religious knowledge, that thereby they may become wiser,
and better grounded in the knowledge and love of God. And as the
pecuniary profits arising from the Book Concern are to be applied to
the support of the ministry, who are engaged night and day in
spreading the Gospel, it may be truly said our whole design in this
business is the salvation of men, for whom Christ died. O brethren!
who would not endeavor to promote such a cause?

The Book Concern is in a prosperous way at present, and promises
fair to be useful to the connection. We hope by the next General
Conference that all its debts will be discharged, and a sufficient capital
established to carry it on, and to allow a handsome annuity
toward time, support of the poor itinerant ministers, their wives, and
children. Your Agent in this business has paid better than $2,000
of the old debts since last General Conference, and the Concern is
very little in debt on account of any contracts made since that time;
however, we may safely say, it is now $2,000 less in debt than it
was then, so that the prospect is encouraging.

Our Hymn Book has been revised and improved, and the copyright
secured, agreeably to the concurrent resolve of the Baltimore,
Philadelphia, and New York Conferences. We hope our friends will
particularly attend to the request of the Bishops in the preface to the
Hymn Book, and remember that the title of our Hymn Book, in
future, is to be, “The Methodist Pocket Hymn Book, revised and improved,”
etc. It appears that some persons attempted to take an
ungenerous advantage of us in the publication of our old Hymn
Book, but we hope our friends will guard against being imposed on
by such publications of our books. It has been in contemplation to
publish a Methodist Repository, consisting of experiences, accounts
of revivals of religion, remarkable deaths, etc. It might be well for
our brethren and friends to write or collect such accounts as they
have knowledge of, and forward them to furnish matter for such a
publication. There have been great and glorious revivals in many
places, also various remarkable and interesting occurrences in the
knowledge of many of our preachers and members; they might do
much good by writing an account thereof to be published.** Minutes, 1802.

During the Conference year of 1802, Mr. Cooper
visited three Annual Conferences, and sought to advance
the interests of the Church in the sphere to which
he was appointed. The spirit of opposition to his remaining
in Philadelphia was still increasing, and within
the year became so decided that the preachers of the
Philadelphia Conference, as well as some of the laymen
in Philadelphia, determined, if it were possible to
have him and the Book Concern removed. One of the
grounds for the advocacy of such a course was, that he
had now been stationed in Philadelphia five years, and
as his brother ministers were subject to more frequent
removals, according to the itinerant plan, he should
stand in the same relation as they to the itinerant plan
of appointment. The matter was laid before the Philadelphia
Annual Conference, held at Smyrna, Delaware,
May 19, 1803, and there it was resolved with great
unanimity that the Book Concern should be removed to
Baltimore, and there be carried forward under the
supervision of Mr. Cooper. He declined at once to
make the change, and by that action called forth the
following letter from Bishop Asbury to him, which
being now given to the reader, the reasons for his
declining to consent both to the will of the Philadelphia
Conference and the desire of the Bishop, will be
set forth. The Bishop wrote:

MY DEAR BROTHER:

As the Executive of the Conference, and
your friend, I think it my duty to tell you that I think it your duty,
in obedience to the Conference, to move to Baltimore about the first
of October. You know there have been many changes among your
brethren. I hope that you also will bear your part. It is my wish, if
I cannot keep the people out of contention, to save the preachers. As
to any reports that are false and groundless, you can easily combat them in Baltimore as well as in Philadelphia, by word or letter.

I think of any preacher that has been stationed in Philadelphia
for six or seven years, I would conclude it was time for him to be
removed if he was not local, and altogether out of my power. I
wish every person that can be moved to be moved, and every thing that can be done for peace and union to be done.

You are not ignorant that other preachers have been called, suspended,
and some removed at a word, to serve the wishes of some
dissatisfied minds. You will take your turn with others, and as there
was such unanimity in the vote of the Conference, it ought to have
weight with you. As an individual your going or staying is nothing
to me. I have no spleen against you. I only want peace in the
Societies, by any good means. I wonder why you should wish to
stay where you must have had great distress of mind, and I have
thought it may be the cause of your ill health.

I am most sincerely, your friend,F. ASBURY.SOUDERSBURG, July 24, 1803.
MR. COOPER'S REASONS FOR OBJECTING TO GO TO BALTIMORE.

1. Because not for the interest of the Book Concern to incur the expense and risk of moving, etc.

2. The General Conference had fixed it in Philadelphia, and given no power to the Philadelphia Conference to remove it. George Roberts, though for removal, argued against the Philadelphia Conference's taking power on them, as in case of Chartered Fund, Trustees, etc.

3. The Baltimore Conference had not been consulted, etc. Why send it out of one district into another without discipline for it?

4. I purposed giving up the business, and concluded to leave it where I found it.

5. My workmen were engaged, and under way. They would have removed if I would have engaged to have kept the business and to keep them, or engage to them the work; neither of which I could do. I did not know who would succeed me, and I could make no engagement with or for them.

6. It would have been difficult to engage workmen at Baltimore
to have entered our business, and put off their former customers, unless
they could have had assurances of a continuation of the work,
which I could not give them under the purpose of giving up the business;
and I could not give assurances for what my successor would do.
Hence it would have been difficult to have got the work done
fast enough.

7. The removal, at all events, would cause a great stoppage and
delay in the work. And as I apprehended another stoppage at and
about Conference [General Conference, 1804—P.], which would have
made two stoppages, etc., instead of one, so I concluded it would be
better to let the work go on and have but one stoppage, and that at
and about Conference.

8. After the vote of the Conference for removal, certain persons began
to boast how they had prevailed in having the business removed,
etc. They! Was it they that did it? and were all these difficulties,
risks, expenses, and stoppages merely to please and oblige them? I
concluded this must not be. I spoke to George Roberts about their
triumph, and told him I would not go if this was the case and if they
continued their triumphant boast. What did Cavender say to Sharpe?
“They to get me out of town had got the business fixed,” etc. They, indeed! This as evidence of boasting, etc.

9. Some one intimated that the vote was in consequence of my
statement to Conference [informant, Sargent]. This appeared calculated
to fix on me the blame, if there were any, and to take it on
themselves if it suited their purpose.

It was clearly seen, during the year that intervened
between the session of the Philadelphia Conference of 1803
and the General Conference of 1804, that Baltimore
was not the most desirable place for locating the
Book Concern; and during the session of the latter body
New York was fixed upon as the place therefor. Here
it has been established for eighty-two years, and is the
chief depository of the Methodist Episcopal Church in
America. Other important measure affecting the Book
Concern were adopted. The direction of the affairs
of the Concern was no longer put under the supervision
of any of the Annual Conferences for the years between
the General Conference sessions, but was intrusted
to a “Committee on the Book Concern,” appointed by
the General Conference to hold office for four years.
The Book Agents were assigned to charges in the
churches of New York and Brooklyn, and were subjected
to the rule of the Conference limiting the
term of a pastoral charge to two years, though the rule
did not apply to their term of office in the book business.
Ezekiel Cooper was re-elected as General Book
Agent; and John Wilson—not Daniel, as Dr. Stevens
has it in his History of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
nor Joshua, as stated in Simpson's Cyclopedia of Methodism,
but John Wilson—was elected as Assistant Book
Agent. These ministers were stationed: Mr. Cooper
from 1805-1806 in Brooklyn, and from 1807-1808 in
New York. Mr. Wilson, 1805-1806, New York; 1807-1808,
Brooklyn. In 1804, the Book Concern not having
been removed before all the Conferences had been held,
they were simply set forth in the Minutes of that year
as follows:

NEW YORK DISTRICT: William Thacher, presiding elder.

New York: Nich. Snethen, M. Coate, S. Merwin; Ezekiel Cooper
editor and general book steward; John Wilson, assistant editor and
general book steward.

Having during the latter part of the year 1804 succeeded
in establishing the Concern in New York, and engaged
printers, binders, and office workers, the editing,
of books began to go forward with renewed vigor; and
though Mr. Cooper had sought to be released from the
responsibilities of the position to which the Church
called him, he undertook them again, and found in his
associate, Rev. John Wilson, an efficient, wise, discreet
and able counsellor. As the Church has from this date
an accurate and detailed statement of the Book Concern,
its managers and management, and as that institution
is now known and acknowledged to be one of
the most trustworthy and useful book establishments
in the world, the writer will close this chapter, with the
introduction of the following letter from Bishop Asbury
to Mr. Cooper:

NEW ROCHELLE, Friday, July 26, 1805.MY VERY DEAR BROTHER:

I have ridden rapidly two hundred and
thirty miles in six days to redeem a day to write. I think that you
might, with the assistance of Brother Wilson, attend five conferences
out of the seven every year. You could take Virginia, Maryland, and
Pennsylvania. Reasons for this, the critical state of the bills and
banks; and that the preachers can be brought to a settlement better
at Conference than at any other time.

Brother Crawford is appointed to ride with me. If he can render
any service at the Western or Southern Conferences you will
give orders.

I should be exceedingly glad to see Mr. Wesley's Sermons published
up to the ninth and last volume this year. Then I should be pleased
to see a complete set of his Journals published in America, and a set
of his Appeals. It's time, after thirty-five years—it is time these
were done.

I have had a thought of buying a light Jersey wagon, that I may
go at the rate of the mail-stage, and visit all the towns and cities in
the winter, and go to the westward in the fall; but the greatness of
the expense is one difficulty, the badness of the roads another.

I give up Dr. Coke, according to his own letter, unless he should
come for good. I have no unjustifiable partiality for men of any
nation under heaven; I love all; they have nothing to gain or lose
from me.

I have no more to do with the Book Concern than another preacher,
nor so much as some of them. If I was to keep a little stage the
person in company, Brother Crawford or some other, would carry a
choice selection of the books of the Connection.

When any one leaveth our Connection he leaves the Conference, not
me; I would not have it thought I am any thing in the business. I
am pleased to feel that we are not taught to look upon it as a calamity
when any one leaves us, only we grieve they should lose their
first love, and give the world cause to say the Methodist preachers
may be bought with money as well as others. For my part, I am glad
they are gone, and so the judicious part, preachers and people, will
say: let them go, and welcome. Had we not been shorn, we might
have added near an hundred this year.

Perhaps it has been a trial to your mind that Conference made the
additional provision for Brother Wilson. They thought themselves
justifiable; they did not think it right to require Brother Cooper to
give up a part of his, yet they must know that to have a family in
New York must make a difference. But then it is not known how
soon you may have one.

Honor! Honor! Honorable men we are; but I conclude we
have sunk in insolvency in the seven conferences, according to General
Conference appropriation, about $15,000, if not $20,000; yet I
never saw the Connection more united and cheerful, and determined
to go on while liberty, equality, and order prevails; and the work of
God goeth on with increasing rapidity in every conference, district,
and circuit more or less.

I should be pleased with your company to Second River on Monday,
at the new church near Newark. You can write me what you
think the dividend will be; as the Western Conference and South,
also, will go on for the next year, but will meet within this. You
can write me, South, any commands you have for me as your organ,
and the President of the Conferences.

The details embraced in the present chapter were not
connected with the historical sketch given of the Church
in Philadelphia in 1796, because Mr. Cooper's pastoral
relation had ceased; and what is now furnished was
held by him as secondary to the Book Concern management
under his care. Yet it will be seen that the work
of the ministry, in its ecclesiastical sense, was by no
means neglected; on the contrary, he did all that he
could to upbuild the Church and to increase the power
and influence of Methodism.

Reference has been made, in several instances set
forth in the last chapter, to a state of disorder in the
Society in the city; and a true account thereof ought
be in hands of the Church of the present age, in
order that the real condition may be set forth. It will
be given herein.

During the three months of ministerial service rendered
by Mr. Cooper he was called by Mr. Haskins to go about
forty miles into New Jersey to join him in marriage
to Eliza Richards, daughter of Esquire Richards, resident
at Balsto. In making the tour he spent the night
at Long-a-Coming, and thus accounts for the name of
that village:

I find that Long-a-Coming took its name from the circumstance of
a sick or wounded man, many years ago, who was brought from Egg
Harbor through the wilderness of pines; and those being no houses
or water on the road for a long distance, he often complained with
thirst, and they told him he could not get any till they arrived
at such a place; and he would cry out: “That place is long-a coming.”

The membership in the Philadelphia Society in 1799
was: whites, 411; blacks, 211. During the latter part
of the summer the preachers stationed in the city with
Mr. Cooper established a preaching service to he held
every Sabbath afternoon at five o'clock in the State-house
yard. The congregations were very large and
orderly. It continued until interrupted by the breaking
out again of the yellow fever.

In April, 1800, Dr. Coke made a visit to Philadelphia
and spent a week with the churches. At that time St.
George's was undergoing repairs, and the doctor's ministerial
services were confined to the other three churches,
namely: Ebenezer (white), and Bethel and Zoar
(colored), and State-house yard. The conference year
closed with a loss of four white members and an increase
of forty-six colored. The preachers that were
appointed to the Society in Philadelphia in 1799 were
Philip Bruce, Lemuel Green, and Charles Cavender. In
1800 only one person, Lawrence McCombs, was stationed
there. This made it necessary for Ezekiel Cooper
and the “located” ministers to perform more ministerial
service than formerly, and brought them into
closer association with the growing interests of the
charge. The statement of this fact is due to the multitudinous
friends of Mr. Cooper and to the student of
Methodist history, as otherwise he would be liable to
the charge of intermeddling with the administration of
him who had been placed by the Conference in charge
of the Society. We will now give a report of the
disorder of which we have made mention, in Mr. Cooper's
own statement. He says:

This summer was a trying season to me on various occasions, but
particularly on account of a most disagreeable variance existing
among some of our leading and most respectable members of Society,
which drew almost the whole Society into a party spirit on the one
side or the other; and, unfortunately, Brother McCombs, the stationed
preacher, entered deeply into a party spirit on one side of the
subject of dispute, which drew the great displeasure of the others
against him: consequently, his influence and usefulness was destroyed
among the others. He struck in with those who were considered
the most wealthy and respectable members, but who were
opposed by the poor, who had the majority of members on their side.
Thus the wealthy and respectable minority were on one side, and the
poor majority on the other. It became a very serious question
which should prevail: wealth and worldly respectability on the one
side, or the majority on the other?

I, for a long time endeavored to stand neutral, so that I might, if possible,
contribute toward an accommodation or compromise. On sundry
questions of moment I kept my judgment to myself, not letting
either side know what was my opinion. In other questions I took a
middle ground, agreeing partly with one and partly with the other;
because I saw that each party was disposed to strain the questions
altogether on their own side, and in their own favor, right or wrong;
and, consequently, in my opinion, ran into errors on both sides; therefore,
as I considered them partly wrong and partly right on those
questions, I thought in conscience, prudence, and duty that I was
bound to agree to the right and disagree to the wrong on either side;
whether with respect to the merits of the question itself, or with respect
to the spirit and manner of treating it, or with, respect to the
apparent design or end they had in view to accomplish. Thus in the
same question I sometimes agreed as to the merits of the question,
but disagreed with the spirit or manner of managing it; at other
times disagreed as to the merits of the case, but thought favorable as
to the intentions and designs. Other times, in complex and complicated
cases, I could approve of one part; but, at the same time, disapprove
of the other part of the case. However, I resolved to follow
the dictates of my own judgment, and suffer myself to be so led
into the spirit of party, as to disapprove altogether on the one side,
to approve altogether on the other, right or wrong. No! not if all
the society should be displeased with me. Thus I strove to keep the
middle ground, which, I thought, was the right and impartial ground
There appeared to me to be wrongs on both sides which I did not and
could not approve. But in some points I believed the one side right,
and in other points I believed the other side to be right.

I still, for considerable time, lived in hopes that they might be
prevailed on to come to an amicable settlement of their differences;
but the further they went the less hope I had. At times I would almost
despair of an agreement or union ever taking place; then, again,
I would get a little hope. I resolved to try after union and peace,
and to follow after it, so far as I could with a clear judgment. But
ah! at length many of the warm, fiery, and intemperate minds which
had more zeal and prejudice than wisdom and prudence—more of
self-will and passion than brotherly kindness and Christian moderation—more
of self-importance than self-knowledge—became extremely
offended with me, for no other cause that I know of than because I
ventured to oppose them wherein I believed them to be wrong. They
were astonished at me. The wealthy and respectable were surprised
at me to take part with, what they called, the poor and ignorant part
of the Society against them; and the others lamented and were surprised
that I did not give them a more decided support in opposition
to, what they considered, the overbearing measures of what they
called “the great men.” I told them it was but a small matter to be
judged of man's judgment. I did not intend that any man or men
should be the rule of my judgment, rich or poor; and that I did not
mean to devote myself to the one side or the other on principles of
party, and intended to know no party further than I believed the
cause right.

At length, on some measures of Mr. McCombs, the stationed preacher,
in breaking several class-leaders who differed with him in opinion,
etc., which Mr. Everett, the presiding elder, thought a stretch of
power, a difference took place with them; and as the stationed preacher
was stiff in his measures, and would not yield to the presiding elder
in certain matters which he thought right, the elder resolved to
move him to another station in the district, and to place Mr. Sneath
in the city to take the charge and government of the Society. Mr.
McCombs did not go to the circuit to which he was appointed, but
Mr. Sneath came to the city and took the charge according to Mr.
Everett's direction.

Now matters appeared to be less likely to be made up than ever.
Some of the local preachers, of what was called the respectable party,
refused to take appointments from, or to preach under, the administration
of Mr. Sneath. They also, together with a number of other
members, declined coming to the Church; some came not at all, and,
others came very seldom. My hopes of a compromise were now almost
gone; yet I made a proposition that there should be a committee
of an equal number on both sides appointed to devise a plan for
the restoration of peace and unity, and that the terms and conditions
agreed upon should not be in any wise contrary to the Discipline of
church, and that, when agreed upon, it should be laid before the
presiding elder for his approbation, which being given, all parties should
agree and restore peace. But this proposition was not agreed to.
It was particularly opposed by Mr. McCombs and his party. The
presiding elder had assured me, that if the two parties would agree
on terms of peace he would submit to them, provided the terms were
agreeable to the Discipline of the Church.

However, it appeared plainly that no terms would do except the
elder would reinstate Mr. McCombs to the charge and government
of the Church, and that the preachers and members would agree
to give up to certain views and wishes of what was called the respectable
party. I now began to see that the dispute would end in
a division. I could see no prospect of a compromise whatever, and
lost all hope of a settlement. And, indeed, I more than ever disapproved
of the temper and spirit of the party called the wealthy and
respectable party. They appeared determined to submit to no terms
whatever, excepting on certain conditions of their own proposing,
and which the other party would not agree to; and it really appeared
unreasonable that one party should be the sole arbiters, and exclusively
point out and fix the certain terms of agreement, They also—numbers of them—gave way to such bitterness of spirit, and to
such an abusive practice of evil-speaking and of persecution, that I,
more than ever, was convinced that their motives were not pure and
that their designs were not good. I further considered myself more
than ever in duty bound to oppose them with respect to their leading
measures, and particularly to oppose the principle and spirit
which appeared to govern them, and I took measures and made
arrangements accordingly. Not from a principal of party or passion,
but, in my judgment, the good of the Church and the interest of religion
required it of me. Of course, I was now considered by them
as decidedly in favor of the poor, and, as they called them, the ignorant
part of the Society.

I shall now consider myself as with the poor, and opposed to what
was called the rich; and they were pleased to call me the leader, the
counselor, and the mainspring or organ of those they were opposed
to. Nevertheless, I do not know that I changed my opinion as to
one point that I had before made up my judgment upon. But new
measures and procedures among them, and the spirit and temper existing
among them, compelled me to oppose them for the true interest
of the Church. They set up opposite meetings in private houses, and
held meetings in the jail, etc., and refused attending our regular
meetings.

In the midst of this business a work of religion broke out among
us, which the others opposed with much severity, and endeavored to
make it be believed that it was a delusion, etc. This still appeared
worse and worse in them. They found they could not prevail, having
the presiding elder, Mr. Sneath, myself, the Quarterly Meeting Conference,
and the majority of the Society against them; they resolved
to carry their measures to the next Annual Conference, by way of
protest against the presiding elder and the Quarterly Conference.
They accordingly wrote off to the Bishops, who were in the South.
The others wrote also, and the business lay in an unsettled way till
Conference.

At Conference, in the spring of 1801, the business was brought
forward, but the Conference revoked nothing that had been done.
Mr. Everett, the elder and Mr. McCombs made up, and the Conference
requested the Bishops to write a letter to the masters, recommending
them on all sides to drop the dispute, and return to peace and
quietude. The decision of the Conference and the letter of the Bishops
gave additional offense to the dissatisfied party, and they in a body
withdrew, and became a separate body from the Methodist Church. They now set up their worship in the old City Academy, having their
separate preachers and members.

When those dissatisfied members withdrew they left the church in
debt near $3,000, which themselves had principally contracted before
they gave up, they having had the management of the temporal affairs
of the Church. It was now supposed, and intimated by those
who withdrew, that we should never be able to pay the debt, and
that the church would be sold by the creditors, and that they would
buy it, etc., etc. Nay, the stone-cutter told me that some of them
had advised him to sue for his money. This was strange work; but
I was more surprised when I was informed that some of them wished
the church to be sold: then I thought it no wonder for them to advise
the creditors to sue. However, there was no suit commenced
against us, but in less than a year we made up the whole amount
of the money, and paid off the whole debt against the church.
Before the following Conference we raised more than $4,000, paid
the old debt, and supported two preachers. The ground-rent had not
been paid for two years. We also insured $6,000 on the church,
from fire and loss by fire, for seven years, which had never been insured
We also proceeded and finished the Ebenezer Church, which
had not been plastered, neither had galleries been put up, although it
had been built for many years. So that we did more than used to be
done when the rich and great were with us.

Whatever cause this was owing to I choose not at present to decide
upon. But certainly we felt no disadvantage or loss as to temporal
supplies. And as to the work of religion, it went on gloriously.
There were about sixty withdrew from the church, and about four
hundred joined us, so that we lost nothing in numbers. There never
had been so great a revival in Philadelphia before. It was remarkable
that the work broke out after the division took place in fact, and
the dissatisfied people had refused to come to the church. This
showed the goodness of God, and was, no doubt owing in part to
some secondary cause which I feel backward to decide upon.

At the Conference in the spring or 1802, it was agreed upon to give
the separates a preacher upon such honorable terms as they and the
Bishops might agree upon, as they now had purchased a part of the
old Academy for their worship. I did not oppose this measure,
though, I confess, I have very little faith that it will work well.
However, I calmly wait to see the issue of the experiment, and
sincerely wish it may terminate well. But it will be a long time before
certain individuals can be brought to any degree of unity or fellowship.
Nay, I doubt whether they ever will. I wish I had more ground
to believe that there would be a good understanding between the two
Societies. It is my intention not to obstruct, but try to promote,
peace. O may the Lord bring good out of all these things!

The above extract from Mr. Cooper's Journal will
serve to explain to the reader the numerous allusions
made in letters heretofore given concerning the state
of affairs in the Philadelphia Society, and also the reason
for naming two charges as being in Philadelphia
in the Conference Minutes of 1802. Under question
12, “What numbers are in Society?” the answer for
Philadelphia is: “Philadelphia, whites, 721; colored,
456. Academy, whites, 102.” ** See Annual Conference Minutes, 1802, p. 11.
No such representation
is made of any other city, though at that time New
York had a larger number of churches, and required
more pastors to supply them. The union of the two
Societies having been effected at that Conference, the
distinction does not appear in the Minutes for several
following years. This Academy Society—Whitefield's
Academy—having now laid aside their weapons of
warfare against the Methodist Episcopal Church,
founded, this year, the Union Church in Philadelphia,
which has since grown up to be one of the most important
charges in that city. In 1804 the total membership
in the city was, whites, 821; colored, 647, an increase,
notwithstanding their difficulties, in four years of 804
members.

CHAPTER XV.
PRESIDING ELDERSHIP IN THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL
CHURCH.

THIS office, which really was introduced with the
establishment of the Methodist Episcopal Church in
America, did not assume its distinctive feature of separation
from any local pastoral charge, and supervision
of a district including several pastoral charges, until
after the session of the General Conference of 1792.
Prior to that time, the elders of the Church for several
years had, for the most part, no circuit or station,
as had their brethren who had not attained to this
office, but were supervisors over two or more circuits,
mainly with a view to the administering of the sacraments
to their congregations. The Annual Conference
Minutes of 1785 reported twenty elders in the Church.
In 1786 there were twenty-four elders; in 1787, twenty-five.
In 1788 the districts were enlarged; so that the
number of elders was decreased to twenty-two.

In 1789 the title of presiding elder was for the first
time set forth in the Annual Conference Minutes, and
was adopted, apparently, in order to designate the persons
who should meet with the Bishops in Council,
which it was agreed by the Conferences was to be held
at Cokesbury, on the 1st of the following December.
Be this as it may, the title was dropped the following
year, and not used again until 1797. To state this matter
clearly, it is deemed expedient to refer here to the
action of the several Annual Conferences of 1789, as
published in the Annual Minutes before the session of
the Council. The plan laid before the Conferences, and
adopted by a majority of the preachers, contained the
following:

Quest. 16. Whereas, the holding of general conferences on this extensive
continent would be attended with a variety of difficulties, and
many inconveniences to the work of God; and whereas, we judge it
expedient that a Council should be formed of chosen men out of the
several districts, as representatives of the whole Connection, to meet
at stated times: in what manner is this Council to be formed, what
shall be its powers, and what further regulations shall be made concerning
it? ** The above is from the “Minutes” taken at the several Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, for the year 1789. New York: Printed by William Ross, in Broad Street. MDCCLXXXIX.

The answer to the first question was:

Ans. 1. Our bishops and presiding elders shall be the members of
this Council; provided that the members who form the Council be
never fewer than nine. And if any unavoidable circumstance prevent
the attendance of a presiding elder at the Council, he shall have authority
to send another elder out of his own district to represent him;
but the elder so sent by the absenting presiding elder shall have no
vote in the Council without the approbation of the bishop or bishops
and presiding elders present. And if, after the above-mentioned provisions
are complied with, any unavoidable circumstance, or any contingency,
reduce the number to less than nine, the bishop shall immediately
summon [enough of] such elders as do not preside to complete
the number.

This is the only instance in the history of the Methodist
Episcopal Church until 1797 when such a classification
of appointments was made, thus designating
the persons who were to compose the Council ordered.
The arrangement was carried out. The first Council,
that of 1789, was, besides, Bishop Asbury, composed of
eleven members, all designated elders; but of that
number nine were presiding elders, one elder, Joseph
Everett, in place of Richard Whatcoat, presiding elder,
and John Dickins, also an elder and book steward, in
place of Henry Willis, presiding elder. Among the
measures adopted by that body, it was determined that
the members of the Council for 1790 should be composed
of the most experienced elders in the Connection,
who should be elected in the Annual Conferences
by ballot, and the title of the tract containing an account
of the proceedings of that body was:

Minutes taken at a Council of the Bishops and delegated Elders of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, held at Baltimore, in the State of
Maryland, December 1, 1790.

The growing demands of the work in all the Conferences
called loudly for a large supply of elders to administer
the ordinances, and to exercise full clerical
supervision over the local Societies. The number was
soon increased. While in 1789 there were thirty—seventeen
over the districts, thirteen on circuits and stations—in
1790 there were sixty-seven, twenty of whom
were presiding elders. In 1791, out of sixty-two elders,
eighteen were over districts. In 1792, out of seventy-eight,
eighteen.

At the General Conference of 1792, begun in Baltimore,
November 1, the office of presiding elder was
distinctly and formally recognized and established,
and its duties defined. As some of the preachers
doubted whether the bishops had power to appoint
such an office or officer in the Church, the Conference
determined, says Rev. Jesse Lee, that there should
be presiding elders, and that they should be chosen,
stationed, and changed by the bishop. However,
a new rule was formed respecting them, as follows:
“The bishop shall not allow an elder to preside in the
same district more than four years successively.” His
duty was to travel and preach through his district; to
take charge of all the Methodist preachers therein; to
change, receive, or suspend the traveling preachers
within his jurisdiction in the absence of a bishop;
to be present, as far as practicable, at all the quarterly
meetings; and, in the absence of a bishop, to
preside over the annual conference of his district, performing
all the duties of the episcopal office save
that of ordination.

The spirit of those who doubted the propriety of
intrusting the appointment of presiding elders solely
to the bishop was afterward manifested in the effort
to establish a rule making it the duty of the Annual
Conferences to elect their presiding elders by ballot.
This was agitated more or less, in the succeeding
sessions of the General Conference, and at times created
intense emotion. The subject was informally and privately
discussed among the members of the General
Conferences of 1796 and 1800, but in 1804 a motion
was introduced into the Conference to make the office
elective, and was warmly discussed. Allusion to the
whole question is made in the following letter written
to Ezekiel Cooper during the pendency of the
motion:

MY BROTHER:

He that ruleth over man should be just. I am
deeply sensible of the difficulties that will always attend my speaking
in, or entering into the debates of, either a General or Yearly
Conference. If I have gained any thing by serving you in America
for thirty-three years it is your confidence and affection.

I wish some person may, when the debate comes to elders, or [to]
one that has the charge of circuits, changing class leaders, etc., that
the characters and standing of these men may be considered. Then
let it be [shown] that all the men upon that floor are presiding
elders, as having charges of districts, circuits, towns, or stations.

The elders of stations say it is their right of office to rule. Who is
lord over them? a few men a thousand miles distant may write to
them. The presiding elders have given up their right of a station, or
of a circuit, to be at the will of another. They hold their appointment
four years, or during pleasure—the pleasure of the episcopacy—and
great displeasure of the circuit eldership—at least of some of them. I
conclude they have beaten these presiding elders, being Romans, untried,
uncondemned. I hoped it was for correction, but I am now
assured it was, in some, designed for destruction. These presiding
elders have not asked this office; they have said: We are not fit for
the office in our own estimation. The episcopacy say: Fit, perfectly
fit! Who is fit? A sense of your own unfitness will make you diffident,
humble, and diligent.

The elders of stations—what I would call local presiding elders—in
towns, cities, and circuits, do not stand at the will or at the charge
of another as to office, go where they may. In short, every deacon
that has a charge—every elder that has the charge of a station or
circuit—is a presiding elder in a sense; and there would be no help
for the greatest abuses of power were it not for the interposition of
presiding elders and quarterly meetings. I beg you will state the
case of those ejected leaders; many will know whom you mean.

I am, F. ASBURY.I think of all the men in the connection we ought to guard against
these office-right men, these local presiding elders for three or four
years in a town, or that can change or suspend leaders of twenty or
thirty years' standing; but let it be known for what fault: are they
erroneous or are they immoral? Then expel them.Henry Willis is called a local preacher by some, but, how many
miles has he rode in the year, attending every other Sabbath at
Fredericktown? Thirty miles a day; a man so afflicted as he is!
Mark that!

In 1808 Ezekiel Cooper and Joshua Wells introduced
a motion before the General Conference in its quadrennial
session, to make “An elective presiding eldership.”
After a free discussion it was defeated.** See Stevens's History of the Methodist Episcopal Church, vol. iv, p. 440.
Again in
1812 it was discussed warmly for two days; but
the advocates thereof were defeated by three votes.
It came up again in the General Conference of 1816—was
“elaborately debated, but lost.”†† Ibid., pp. 452, 454.

We shall now lay before the reader a thorough and
more minute statement of this question, for the reasons
that the Church ought to be in possession of these facts,
and that our historians have not followed the investigation
further than down to the year 1816.

The General Conference convened in Baltimore, Md.,
in May, 1820, had been in session only a few days before
the Rev. Timothy Merritt offered a resolution that
the presiding eldership be made elective. The writer has
before him a paper prepared by the Rev. Ezekiel Cooper,
and designed originally to be issued from the press, but
withheld, probably to avoid an increase of the excitement
which prevailed throughout the Church after the
adjournment of the General Conference. Its publication
now will exert no disturbing influence, as the question
has been settled for sixty years or more. It is as follows:

A brief narrative of the proceedings and occurrences at the General
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the month of
May, A.D., 1820, at Baltimore, relative to the question: “By whom
are the presiding elders to be chosen?” and which incidentally involved
the question of the resignation of the Rev. Joshua Soule,
bishop elect, and consequently prevented his consecration or ordination
to the office of superintendent; chiefly from notes taken down
in writing at and during the time of the General Conference by one
of the members, to prevent and to correct any misunderstandings or
misrepresentations upon that subject.

Be it known, and well remembered, that at an early period of
the General Conference the Rev. Timothy Merritt, a delegate from
New England Conference, proposed in his place as a member of the
General Conference a resolution, that in the answer to the question,
“By whom are the presiding elders to be chosen?” it be inserted,
“By the Annual Conferences.” Whereupon one of the Bishops intimated
to him a desire that the said motion or resolution should not
then be acted upon, inasmuch as a compromise was contemplated to
harmonize the views and to conciliate and meet the wishes of the
brethren on that subject. Upon which the said T. Merritt consented
to withhold his motion or resolution for a few days, to give time for
accommodation, if any was seriously intended by those who differed
with him on the question. After some days he received a note from
the said Bishop, letting him know that there was no compromise to
be expected. Whereupon the said T. Merritt, being informed that
an accommodation was not to be expected, after some deliberation
and consultation with some of his brethren brought his motion
or resolution forward: that the Annual Conferences should choose
or elect their own presiding elders, who were to rule and govern the
brethren in their several districts. The question being under discussion
for some time—and as many as eighteen members having spoken
on the subject, nine on each side, for and against the resolution—and
considerable excitement having been raised, which appeared unfavorable
to the unity and peace of Christian brethren, it was moved by
Ezekiel Cooper, and seconded by John Emory, to lay the resolution in
debate on the table until next morning, to give time for cool and calm
deliberation, and to afford an opportunity to propose another resolution,
which had for its object a conciliatory course, to harmonize and
accommodate the views of brethren. This being agreed to, then a
resolution was moved by the said Ezekiel Cooper, and seconded by
the said John Emory, that at each Annual Conference, after ascertaining
the number of presiding elders wanted, the bishops should
nominate three times the number wanted, and out of such nominations
the Conferences should elect the presiding elders by ballot,
without debate. This, as a middle course, was disapproved of by
some of the friends of T. Merritt's resolution; but they agreed to
submit to it for the sake of conciliation. It was, however, warmly
and irritatingly opposed by some of the other side, who appeared determined
to yield to no accommodation; nothing would do for them
but that the Bishops, independent of any control by the Conferences,
should have the absolute power to choose and appoint and remove
the presiding elders at pleasure. After this resolution had been opposed
by some and advocated by others for a considerable time, it
apparently gained ground, and was in a way of probable success. At
length it was laid on the table to make room for another resolution,
to give the business a different direction, which was first proposed
and read by Stephen G. Roszel, and then moved by N. Bangs and seconded
by William Capers, and carried. [That motion was] to appoint
a committee of six, three on each side of the question, to confer
with the Bishops upon the subject, and to report the next day whether
any, and if any what, alterations might be made to reconcile the
wishes of the brethren upon this subject. The Bishops themselves
appointed the committee, who were Ezekiel Cooper, Nathan Bangs,
and John Emory on the one part, for the election of presiding elders
by the Conferences, and Stephen G. Roszel, Joshua Wells, and William
Capers on the other part, for the Bishops choosing them independently
of the Conferences.

The said committee accordingly met in the evening and conferred
with the three Bishops, William McKendree, E. George, and R. R.
Roberts; but that evening they made up no report. The next day
the committee met again, and made up a report, which was, in the
afternoon, brought before the Conference by Ezekiel Cooper the
chairman of the said committee, and introduced in substance nearly
as follows, namely: The committee appointed to confer with the
Bishops upon the subject of electing the presiding elders, and
directed to report this day “whether any, and if any what,
alterations might be made to conciliate the wishes of the brethren,”
beg leave now to report: That they have had a free conversation
with the three Bishops; one of whom expresses himself unfavorable
to any change, but appeared desirous of conciliation and
seemed unwilling to oppose accommodation, and did not specifically
object to a compromise; however, he did not express any opinion or
wish, for or against, any particular terms of accommodation, as if disposed
to leave it with the other Bishops, the Committee, and the General
Conference. Another of the Bishops expressly and frankly admitted
and acknowledged that he was in favor of accommodation,
and wished a compromise upon the general principles of the resolution
offered by Ezekiel Cooper and John Emory, now lying on your
table, for the Bishops to nominate three times the number wanted,
and the Conferences to elect out of such nomination. The other
Bishop as frankly acknowledged that he was decidedly in favor of
the Conferences having a voice in the choice or election of the presiding
elders, and believed that an alteration or change of the present
rule was expedient and proper. On principles of accommodation, he
inclined to the opinion that it would be better for the Conferences, by
ballot, to nominate three times the number wanted, and the bishops
to choose the presiding elders out of such nomination; but for
conciliation he would agree to the opinion in favor of the nomination
by the Bishops and the election by the Conference. So that it appears
conclusively that two of the three bishops are decidedly in
favor of the principle of the resolution on your table, for the sake of
accommodation as a conciliatory course, and to promote peace, harmony
and unity; and the other Bishop expressed no direct opposition
to the course.

Therefore, your committee have unanimously agreed, by and with
the earnest advice especially of one of the bishops, (E. G.,) and the
concurrent agreement of another, (R. R. R.,) to recommend the
adoption of the following resolutions, signed with all our names,
interchangeably, as knowing no party in the present stage of the
question, as the mutual act and unanimous decision of us all jointly,
namely:

“Resolved, 1. That whenever in any Annual Conference there shall
be a vacancy or vacancies in the office of presiding elder, in consequence
of his period of service of four years having expired, or
the bishop wishing to remove any presiding elder, or by death,
resignation, or otherwise, the bishop or president of the Conference
having ascertained the number wanted from any of those causes,
shall nominate three times the number; out of which the Conference
shall elect by ballot, without debate, the number wanted. Provided,
when there is more than one wanted, not more than three at a time
shall be nominated, nor more than one at a time elected. Provided,
also, that in case of any vacancy or vacancies in the office of presiding
elder, in the interval or any Annual Conference, the bishop
shall have authority to fill the said vacancy or vacancies, until the
ensuing Annual Conference.

“Resolved, 2. The presiding elders be and are hereby made the advisory
council of the bishop, or president of the Conference, in stationing
the preachers.

E. COOPER, J. WELLS,
S. G. ROSZEL, J. EMORY,
N. BANGS, W. CAPERS.”

The above solutions each of the committee pledged himself to
support as the act and deed of them all jointly; and this was agreeably
to the earnest request of Bishop George, who was present when
the report was agreed upon and signed. The report was opposed by
a few; but the resolutions, as reported, were adopted by a majority
of sixty-one to twenty-five votes—considerably more than two thirds;
and it was now supposed that the subject, by mutual agreement, in
harmony and peace was put to rest. It was now apparent that more
love, unity, and brotherly-kindness prevailed than at any other period
during the sitting of the Conference. The writer of this narrative
knows it to be a fact, that certain members who had been pointedly opposed
to each other's views, and that to the wounding of each other's
feelings very seriously, now held out the olive-branch of peace to one
another in brotherly congratulations; that each had yielded to the
other some points which they had wished to have been carried, but
had given them up in order to meet their brethren on the middle
ground—the happy medium of condescending to one another, in
order to strengthen the bonds of union.

But, unfortunately, this pleasing state of things continued only a
few days, when the senior Superintendent Bishop McKendree, came
into Conference, which he seldom attended on account of indisposition,
and, with an apparent distress and painful displeasure in his appearance
and in his speech, he addressed the Conference in a melancholy
and alarming introduction, by observing he was the bearer of
bad or sad tidings, and had a disagreeable communication to make,
etc. After a number of preliminary observation verbally made,
tending to excite surprise and alarm, as though some awful intelligence
was about to be divulged, and which made some of the preachers,
in emphatic whispers, ask each other, with much pathos and
apparent solicitude, “What is the matter? What is it? What
does he allude to?” He presented a paper addressed to the Episcopacy,
from J. Soule, bishop elect, which was read in open conference,
signifying, in plain terms, that if he was consecrated and set apart to
the office of superintendent or bishop in the Church, he would not
hold himself bound to be governed by the decision and resolution of
the General Conference relative to the nomination and election of
presiding elders, and substantially protested against the resolution and
rule passed by the Conference as, in his opinion, unconstitutional and
that he could not, in conscience, execute or comply with it. Thus as
bishop elect only, and a delegate in the Conference, protesting, in
fact, against the decision of considerably more than two thirds of the
General Conference, and which had received the full approbation of
two thirds of the bishops—that is, two out of three had approved
the resolution, and the third had allowed the report of the committee
to be signed without expressing positive opposition—and now the
bishop, elect, before his consecration, comes forward, supported by
senior bishop, to overthrow or put at defiance the authority of
more than two thirds of the General Conference.

This produced a great sensation, much excitement, and surprise.
The paper containing the protest, being addressed to the Episcopacy,
though read to the Conference, was not suffered to remain in possession
of the Conference, but was withdrawn by the senior bishop, who
combined a number of remarks of his own in support of the doctrine
advanced by the bishop elect: intimating, in plain terms, that he
knew of no tribunal to test and determine the constitutionality of the
proceedings of the General Conference, excepting the Episcopacy;
and recommended the repeal or suspension of the rule for the election
of presiding elders at least for four years, declaring it, in his opinion,
unconstitutional, and not obligatory on the bishops to enforce or submit
to it. This, in the estimation of many, was a high and unjustifiable
ground for a bishop and bishop elect to take. But, even if the
doctrine were correct, two out of three of the Episcopacy had admitted
the act to be a constitutional one, and, therefore, settled. However,
even the Pope, with all his great power, holds himself bound
to yield to the decision of a General Council; and hence it was that
Luther and others appealed from the Pope to a General Council.

It was, however, soon discovered that the opinion and influence of
the senior bishop, in support of the doctrine advanced by the bishop
elect, produced a change in the minds of a number who had voted on
the conciliatory plan for the election of presiding elders, and that a
purpose was formed to reconsider and overset, if possible, all that was
done. Therefore, in the afternoon of the same day, a resolution was
brought forward by Daniel Ostrander, seconded by James Smith,
requesting the Superintendents to postpone the ordination or consecration
of J. Soule, the bishop elect, until he had given satisfactory
explanations to the Conference. The bishop elect declared he had no
explanations to give, but had said what he meant, and meant what
he said; and renewed his declaration, which went, as was conceived,
to put the General Conference and their resolutions at defiance, if
they did not comport with his opinion and constructions of the constitutionality
of what was done. Some members expressed themselves
dissatisfied at the pertinacious adherence of the bishop elect to
his protest and declaration that he had no explanation to give, and
the resolution requesting a postponement of his ordination until an
explanation be given was withdrawn by the mover, in order to take
some other course for redress and safety. Immediately a motion was
made by John Collins to reconsider the resolutions of the Conference
on the election of presiding elders, with the avowed intention to
reverse or suspend what had been done; upon which a disagreeable
debate ensued, in the course of which a number of inflammatory
observations were made, which were considered unkind, ungenerous,
and illiberal, bearing a threatening aspect, and somewhat insulting
toward those who wished a reform, and thought it was proper to curtail
the bishops' power in some degree. They declared they would
try strength so long as one hair was left in the head, and were determined
to do away what had been done, and return to the old plan,
etc.; thereby setting at defiance the feelings of others, and the solemn
pledge of conciliation mutually entered into, and that under the apparent
dictate or influence of a bishop elect and the senior bishop.
After a warm, confused debate, which produced great excitement,
tending to sow the seeds of discord and to impair and destroy the
peace and union of brethren, the question for reconsideration was
taken by ballot, and lost. [Here let it be remarked, that at one time
during the debate the question was attempted, but failed.] It was
then hoped that the matter would rest, and not be agitated any more,
and that peace would again be restored. But our hopes were disappointed.

The bishop elect and some others, as coadjutors to the senior
bishop, in their great efforts to maintain an undue episcopal power
appeared to have exerted all their ingenuity and influence in and out
of the Conference; and it appeared they had gained over at least
twenty members who had voted for the election of presiding elders
on the compromise agreed upon; and now these very men, in opposition
to their own votes and in opposition to the solemn pledge which
some of them had entered into to support the measure, now turned
round, under certain influences, and were determined to overset all that
was done by the General Conference, even at the risk of producing a
division in the Connection, and in violation of good faith in breaking the
truce or covenant of peace virtually entered into. Under these circumstances
two protests had been prepared and signed; the one, against
the alarming doctrine set up in support of the episcopal power—that
the bishops had authority to overthrow and put at defiance the decisions
of a General Conference, under a pretense of unconstitutionality
which they assumed the right of determining; the other, against the
consecration of the bishop elect, provided he persisted in maintaining
a doctrine so repugnant to the prerogatives, rights, and privileges of
the Conferences, and so replete with evil and ruinous consequences to
the ecclesiastical and evangelical rights and liberties of the Church in
all its membership; which was insufferable, and not to be submitted
to by a free people who intended to maintain their liberties in a free
country and a free Church. These protests were signed by many,
and ready to be used if occasion demanded it. E. Cooper and Martin
Ruter gave two of the bishops information that such a protest was
prepared and would, probably, be entered if they proceeded; and E.
Hedding gave the bishop elect information of the protest against his
consecration, and that, under the circumstances, it would be entered
against him. The consecration was delayed a few days, and at length
the bishops resolved not to ordain or consecrate him in the public
congregation, but to perform the ceremony in the Conference; and
they announced it in Conference and appointed the hour. Whereupon
the bishop elect gave in his resignation, assigning as a reason
that he was informed there was a protest prepared to be entered
against his consecration. It was resolved by Conference that his
resignation lie on the table, and not be acted on till the next day, to
give time for cool reflection and calm deliberation. The succeeding
day it was called up for consideration. By a small majority of the
Conference it was voted that he be permitted, and is at liberty, to
withdraw his resignation, if he chooses. But for sundry reasons,
pretty well understood, he declined withdrawing it. It was then
moved and resolved by the Conference that his resignation be accepted
and received, and so entered on the Journals. Thus closed the business
of the bishop elect by his own resignation; and with this the
protests were of no further use, and they were laid aside and not presented
at all. But, nevertheless, the trouble was not ended. Stephen
G. Roszel, the zealous and active leader of the party so much determined
on supporting the episcopal prerogatives, and so much resolved
against the right of the Conferences to elect their own presiding elders,
formed a combination to make one bold effort more to overthrow
or suspend what the Conference had done on that subject. And
although he had pledged himself, as a member of the Committee of
Compromise, and engaged, in the presence of Bishop George, with
every other member of the Committee, to support the resolutions;
yet now he had turned round, with two others of the Committee, J.
Wells and W. Capers, to do away or suspend what they had engaged
to support. A paper being prepared among the party, in and out
of Conference, under such various influences and considerations
as they were capable of using and urging to produce an excitement to
serve the purpose, they prevailed with forty-five members (taking
their own words for it) to sign the paper which may be considered,
according to their own declaration, their solemn league and covenant
to suspend the new rule which provided for the election of presiding
elders. Having their forty-five pledged on their paper, obtained in a
strange way and painful to detail, which was now a bare majority of
the Conference and no more, a resolution was moved by Edward
Cannon to suspend the Conciliatory Resolutions or law of the General
Conference respecting the election of presiding elders, and advising
or directing the bishops to act under the old rule until the next
General Conference. This course was objected to as out of order,
for it could not be suspended without reconsideration; and they had
moved for a reconsideration and lost it; and, of course, it was out of
order to reconsider and suspend what the Conference had previously
done unless they first obtained a vote of Conference for reconsideration;
and the Conference had decided by a vote against the reconsideration.
But they had their forty-five names on paper who were
pledged and bound to support the measure before it was moved in
Conference; and having thus obtained their majority in covenant,
they appeared determined to press and force it through, whether in or
out of order, right or wrong. In vain was urged the unfairness and
irregularity of the procedure in obtaining and procuring their boasted
majority, as they had done, by prevailing on members of the Conference
to give a written pledge, in a private way, to support a measure
before it was publicly debated or even moved on the floor of Conference,
and that in defiance of the decision of the Conference against
the reconsideration; also, in vain was it urged that it was out of
order and contrary to the established rules and general usages of deliberative
bodies and of our own particular rules of order in General
Conference. At every point they had their forty-five men to decide—for they had resolved to carry their purpose.

An indefinite postponement was called for, but rejected. A postponement
for one day was requested, to give time for reflection and
deliberation, that the Conference might not act in a case of so much
importance under such excitement and apparent confusion and disorder;
but their forty-five men, all marshaled at their post, would not
allow a postponement at all; no, not for one night nor for an hour!
The time for regular adjournment by the rules of the house arrived,
and an adjournment was called for, which was “always in order;”
but their forty-five members refused to adjourn; and they moved and
carried a resolve that the Conference would not rise till the vote on
the suspension was taken. When they discovered that several in the
opposition wanted to speak and be heard against the suspension
before the vote was taken, then they moved and called for the previous
question. In vain did some of the members request and
entreat to be heard in opposition to the suspension. They even were
answered by being told it was useless to say anything more; they
would not be convinced, and wanted to hear no more, and exultingly
proclaimed they had their forty-five—which they knew was a
majority—and were determined to suspend the new rule, and
resolved on closing all further debate or argument by the previous
question; which they insisted on and carried, and thus exultingly
“put the opposition to silence,” in defiance of every plea and request
to be heard. And then the main question was forced upon the
minority and carried, in what was conceived to be an unjust and
arbitrary manner, and an outrage upon order, rights, and privileges.
Thus at all hazards, risking all consequences, and in violation of a
mutual compromise entered into by parties to conciliate each other's
views and wishes, the forty-five members, by strength and power,
the evening only before the Conference rose, and in the absence of
sundry members who were opposed to their proceedings, disregarding
the arguments, the feelings, the rights, and the privileges of
their brethren, forced upon the Conference their own pre-determined
purposes, suspending the resolution, apparently under the influence,
control and direction of prelatical influence, and in subservient compliance
with episcopal dictation or control, for the purpose of supporting
and maintaining the power and authority of the bishops over
their brethren.

Therefore, in the fear of God, we do most seriously, sincerely, and
conscientiously protest against the arbitrary proceedings of those
forty-five members as unjust, ungenerous, and unscriptural, and as
not being obligatory or binding upon us or the Annual Conferences,
or any other free and independent men. And we do also most
solemnly protest against the high-toned doctrine set up and advanced:
that the episcopacy are to judge of the constitutionality of the proceedings
of a General Conference; and that their judgment or opinion
is to overthrow, make void, suspend, and put at defiance the decisions
and proceedings of a General Conference. And we do further most
solemnly protest against the precedent or example of delegates of the
Annual Conferences, in General Conference assembled, passively
surrendering their own judgments, and implicitly yielding themselves
to be controlled, governed, and directed into this or that particular
course or measure by the mere dictate or mandate of a bishop or
bishops, as though such bishop or bishops were infallible, or as if
such delegates had not sagacity, liberty, or independence sufficient to
judge for themselves. And we do furthermore protest, in the most
solemn and decided terms, against the servile surrender of our rights,
liberties, and privileges to any ecclesiastical domination whatever;
but that, on the contrary, it is our duty to God, to our brethren, to
the Church of Christ, and to ourselves, by all lawful and righteous
means, to maintain our rights, liberties, and privileges, civil and religious,
as citizens and Christians, in peace, union, and brotherly kindness, if we possibly can; but otherwise if we must. And if necessity be
forced upon us, “To your tents, O Israel!”

The excitement occasioned by the rejection of the
rule for the election of presiding elders was, in some
parts of the Church, very great, notably within the
bounds of the Philadelphia, New York, New England
and Genesee Annual Conferences. To gain some idea
of the degree of agitation the following documents are
inserted. The first is a letter from Bishop George to
Rev. Ezekiel, Cooper, after the close of the Philadelphia
Annual Conference, held in Milford, Del., in May, 1821:

May 20, 1821.MY DEAR BROTHER:

Since we parted at Milford my mind has been
frequently and solemnly impressed to ask you one favor in the way,
that is, to write my request, that you may memorize it. The favor is
this, that you would use your influence in the bounds and among
the members of the Philadelphia Conference against a divisive spirit,
constantly pleading against partisan doctrines or divisive decisions.
For we must clearly see that a division in the Church on this old controverted
subject would be like sawing a living man asunder; for it
would be tearing the living body of Christ asunder, that is, if the
Methodists be living Christians, and by this means separating firm
friends and opening a door for endless disputations among those
friends who have long labored together, mingling tears with tears,
prayers with prayers, sacrifices with sacrifices, to build up the Societies
that are now scattered through North America. These suffering,
laborious veterans must not be separated; let them live in each other
affections, as did Jonathan and David, and let their mansions be near
each other in the house not made with hands. My meaning is this:
if the suspended resolution can as peaceably go into operation as it
first came into existence, let us say Amen; but if a majority of our
brethren should say otherwise, let us be ready to acquiesce, believing
they have as much right to their opinion as we have.

I conclude with hoping you will comply with my request and pray
your friend,ENOCH GEORGE.P.S. I am not disposed to ask you to disturb any who are at rest,
but I am disposed to plead with you to make efforts, if you find them
necessary; for there have been some unplesant things said on that
subject since General Conference, namely, “that a divison was inevitable.”
I think there is nothing that demands it. E. G.

The second is a letter addressed by Bishop McKendree
to the several Conferences mentioned, a copy of
which was taken by Ezekiel Cooper. It is as follows:

To the Philadelphia, New York, New England, and Genesee Annual
Conferences for 1822.
DEAR BRETHREN:

I believe the resolutions passed at the last General
Conference, authorizing the respective Annual Conferences to
elect the presiding elders, are an infringement on the constitution of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, nor am I alone in this opinion.
Many of the preachers believe the same. One of many reasons in
support of this opinion is as follows: It is the duty of a bishop to
travel through the work at large, to oversee the spiritual and temporal
business of the Church. But to oversee implies power to overrule,
or manage business officially; and, from the answer to the third question
of the fourth section of the Form of Discipline, on the Duties of
a Bishop, taken in connection with the other parts, it evidently follows
that the overruling power by which the bishops are enabled to
superintend the business of the Church consists in appointing and overruling
the preachers, especially the presiding elders, who, on their
respective districts are authorized to execute all the powers of the
General Superintendents [ordination only excepted]; and, therefore,
but for their being under the control of the bishops, they might
counteract all their measures and render the General Superintendency
a mere name. This power the presiding elder possesses by virtue
of his appointment to that office.

The long established Discipline of the Church invests the bishops
with the power of choosing the presiding elders; but the resolutions
of the last General Conference would invest the Annual Conferences
with this power. Admit this change, and no elder could do the duties
of a presiding elder, although appointed by a bishop to a district,
unless that appointment was conformable to those resolutions; therefore,
the presiding elders evidently derive their executive authority
from the Annual Conferences, and not from the bishops, which implies
an essential change in our system of government—a change which
affects the General Superintendency in its vital parts, and must,
therefore, be an infringement on the constitution.

That the delegated General Conference (whose existence is inseparable
from the constitution) has no legitimate authority to destroy the
itinerant General Superintendency must be admitted; but to transfer
the power of choosing presiding elders from the bishops to the Annual
Conferences implies power to say the bishops shall neither
nominate the presiding elders, station the preachers, nor make any
change after they are stationed.

Small, therefore, as the change made by these resolutions is said to
be, it includes an increase of power in favor of the delegated Conference,
which will enable it to effect changes in our system of government
which it does not now possess, and by which ruinous changes
might be effected. Preachers of this opinion appear to be inclined to
accommodate their brethren who contend for the resolutions, provided
the change is constitutionally effected, and an increase of the power
of the delegated Conference prevented.

To accommodate and settle this unhappy difference among us, some
of the sister Conferences think they have gone far! You are invited
to take up the subject, and adopt such measures as will harmonize
the body.

The above letter, directed to Bishop Roberts, was
by him laid before the Conferences mentioned in the
address, and they severally took action thereupon.
That of the Philadelphia and New York Conferences,
signed by the secretaries of those bodies, is here given.

1. The Philadelphia Conference:

Whereas, Bishop W, McKendree in his communication to this Conference
has pronounced that the resolutions of the last General Conference
relative to the election of presiding elders are, in his belief, an
infringement on the constitution of the Methodist Episcopal Church;
therefore:

Resolved, 1. That in the opinion and full conviction of this Conference,
there is nothing in the said resolutions that makes any infringement
on the Constitution or Restrictive Regulations of our Church.

Resolved, 2. That the Restrictive Regulations do not, in our opinion,
prohibit, or restrict any changes, alterations, or new modification of
the Episcopal power, or duties; provided such changes or alterations
do not do away Episcopacy, nor destroy the plan of our itinerant general
superintendency. Carried unanimously.

True copy, given to N. Bangs. L. LAWRENSON, Sect.

The action of the New York Conference was:

Whereas, Bishop McKendree, in his observations addressed to this
Conference, expressed his belief or opinion that the regulations, relative
to the election of presiding elders, passed at the last General
Conference, were unconstitutional, and considering it proper for this
Conference to express some sentiment on the said question thus
introduced by the bishop to our consideration; therefore,

Resolved, 1. That, in the opinion of this Conference, there is nothing
in the said resolutions passed by the General Conference that infringes
any part of the Constitution of our Church, or that violates
any of the Restrictive Regulations in our Discipline.

Resolved, 2. That, in the opinion of this Conference, there is nothing
in the Restrictive Regulations in our Discipline to prevent any alterations
or new modifications of the Episcopal powers and duties, provided
such changes do not do away Episcopacy nor destroy the plan
of General Superintendency.

L. CLARK.

Thus we have given the history of this subject
which for more than forty years agitated the Church.

ADDENDA.
EARLY METHODISM AND SLAVERY.

THE agency of the Methodist Episcopal Church in
the abolishment of slavery in the United States of
America has never been duly estimated and set forth,
especially in her earlier history, either by our Church
historians, or by other writers on that subject. It is
due to the fact, we think, that the records accessible
to them were meagre.

The statements in the Discipline of the Church, and
in the Minutes of the Conferences, both General and
Annual, are necessarily brief; and, guided by them
only, the reader would conclude that the early hostility
of the Church to the system was gradually overcome,
both among ministers and laymen, and retained in the
Discipline and proceedings of the General Conferences
more as a formal than a vital principle. We shall,
therefore, present a more enlarged view of the great
struggle for the emancipation of the colored people
in the several States, as waged by our Church, and
embracing therein both their spiritual and civil freedom.
We begin with the rule passed by the Methodist Conference
of 1780, referring the reader to Simpson's
Cyclopedia, article “Slavery,” for preliminary statements
and other valuable information.

In 1780 the Conference Minutes, under the form of
questions and answers, presents the following:

Quest. 16. Ought not this Conference to require those traveling
preachers who hold slaves to give promises to set them free?

Ans. Yes.

Quest. 17. Does this Conference acknowledge that slavery is contrary
to the laws of God, man, and nature, and hurtful to society,
contrary to the dictates of conscience and pure religion, and doing
that which we would not others should do to us and ours? Do we
pass our disapprobation on all our friends who keep slaves, and advise
their freedom?

Ans. Yes.

In 1783 appears the following:

Quest. 10. What shall be done with our local preachers who hold
slaves contrary to the laws which authorize their freedom in any
of the United States?

Ans. We will try them another year. In the meantime let every
assistant deal faithfully and plainly with every one, and report to the
next Conference. It may then be necessary to suspend them.

In 1784 three questions and answers are given:

Quest. 12. What shall we do with our friends that will buy and
sell slaves?

Ans. If they buy with no other design than to hold them as slaves,
and have been previously warned, they shall be expelled; and permited
to sell under no consideration.

Quest. 13. What shall we do with our local preachers who will
not emancipate their slaves in the States where the laws admit it?

Ans. Try those in Virginia another year, and suspend the preachers
in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

Quest. 22. What shall be done with our traveling preachers that
now are, or hereafter shall be, possessed of slaves, and refuse to manumit
them where the law permits?

Ans. Employ them no more.

At the organization of the Methodist Episcopal
Church at the close of the year the following was
enacted relative to slavery:

Quest. 41. Are there any directions to be given concerning the
negroes?

Ans. Let every preacher, as often as possible, meet them in class.
Let the assistant always appoint a proper white person as their
leader. Let the assistant also make a regular return to the Conference
of the number of negroes in society in their respective circuits.

Quest. 42. What methods can we take to extirpate slavery?

Ans. We are deeply conscious of the impropriety of making new
terms of communion for a religious society already established, except
on the most pressing occasion; and such we esteem the practice of
holding our fellow-creatures in slavery. We view it as contrary to
the golden law of God, on which hang all the law and the prophets
and the inalienable rights of mankind, as well as to every principle of
the revolution, to hold in the deepest debasement, in a more abject
slavery than is perhaps to be found in any part of the world except
America, so many souls, all capable of the image of God. We, therefore
think it our most bounden duty to take immediately some effectual
methods to extirpate this abomination from among us; and for
that purpose we add the following to the rules of our Society, to wit:

1. Every member of our society who has slaves in his possession
shall, within twelve months after notice given to him by the assistant
(which notice the assistants are required immediately and without
delay to give in their respective circuits), legally execute and record
an instrument whereby, he emancipates and sets free every slave in
his possession who is between the ages of forty and forty-five immediately,
or at the furthest, when they arrive at the age of forty-five;
and every slave who is between the ages of twenty-five and forty
immediately, or at the furthest at the expiration of five years from
the date of said instrument; and every slave who is between the
ages of twenty and twenty-five immediately, or at furthest when
they arrive at the age of thirty; and every slave under the age of
twenty as soon as they arrive at the age of twenty-five at furthest;
and every infant, born in slavery after the above-mentioned rules are
complied with, immediately on its birth.

2. Every assistant shall keep a journal, in which he shall regularly
minute down the names and ages of all the slaves belonging to
the masters in his respective circuit, and also the date of every instrument
executed and recorded for manumission of the slaves,
with the name of the court, book, and folïo, in which said instruments
respectively shall have been recorded, which journal shall be handed
down in each circuit to the succeeding assistants.

3. In consideration that these rules form a new term of communion,
every person concerned who will not comply with them
shall have liberty quietly to withdraw himself from our society within
the twelve months succeeding the notice given as aforesaid; otherwise
the assistant shall exclude him in the society.

4. No person so voluntarily withdrawn or so excluded shall ever
partake of the Supper of the Lord with the Methodists till he complies
with the above requisitions.

5. No person holding slaves shall in future be admitted into society,
or to the Lord's Supper, till he previously complies with these
rules concerning slavery.

N. B. These rules are to affect the members of our society no further
than as they are consistent with the laws of the States in which
they reside. And respecting our brethren in Virginia that are concerned,
and after due consideration of their peculiar circumstances,
we will allow them two years from the notice given to consider the
expediency of compliance or non-compliance with these rules.

Quest. 43. What shall be done with those who buy or sell slaves, or
give them away?

Ans. They are immediately to be expelled, unless they buy them
on purpose to free them.

In 1785 the Annual Conferences recommended the
suspension of the execution of the above rules “till
the deliberations of a future Conference; and that an
equal space of time be allowed all our members for
consideration, when the minute shall be put in force.”
But to show the feelings of the societies on the subject,
they appended:

N. B. We do hold in the deepest abhorrence the practice of
slavery, and shall not cease to seek its destruction by all wise and
prudent means.

From this period the Annual Minutes contain no
record of the action of those bodies in regard to the
civil rights of the colored people, but give expression
to their views in regard to their spiritual welfare.
Thus we have, in 1787, the following in the Minutes
of that year:

Quest. 17. What direction shall we give for the promotion of the
spiritual welfare of the colored people?

Ans. We conjure all our ministers and preachers by the love of
God and the salvation of souls, and do require them by all the authority
that is invested in us, to leave nothing undone for the spiritual
benefit and salvation of them within their respective circuits or districts;
and for this purpose to embrace every opportunity of inquiring
into the state of their souls, and to unite in society those who
appear to have a real desire of fleeing from the wrath to come; to
meet such in class, and to exercise the whole Methodist Discipline
among them.

While in the Conferences, at this period, no additional
rules were passed on the subject of slavery, the
ministers themselves, for the most part, were active in
disseminating the principles of freedom, and in showing
from the pulpit and the press the wickedness of
American slavery. To illustrate this, in addition to the
detail given in this volume, the following extracts from
Mr. Cooper's documents will show that he denounced
slavery from the press, and boldly challenged the arguments
of those who advocated the system of slavery
then practiced. Read the following:

For the Maryland Gazette:

Is not liberty the grand American shrine? Freedom is the chief
corner-stone of our excellent republic, constitution, and government.
Behold upon this basis our flourishing empire fitly raised and united.

The inestimable value of human rights was duly considered in time
of our subjection to a foreign power; Americans, free and independent
in spirit, believing “freedom the just due of every man,” laid claim
to their inalienable rights, which no king or nation had right to deprive
them of. This claim being denied, our countrymen boldly ventured
both fortune and life—they fought, bled, and died—to recover
that freedom which is by the law of nature granted to every man,
the “just due of every man.” We resolved to lose our lives or gain
our liberty. And what is life when liberty is gone? 'Tis a servile
state of ignominious existence which is little, if any, preferable to
death. I marvel that our memories are so treacherous as to forget
the noble sentiments and impressions of freedom which inspired our
breasts with animated zeal in the time of Britanic oppression. Then,
sir, we extended the right of freedom indiscriminately to “every
man.” Why do we now discriminate, and deny this right to a certain
species of the human race? The argument that the “Negroes
were providentially intended to be slaves” is a most groundless
proposition, and I confess a surprise that any man should ever advance
it. The Algerines, with equal propriety, might argue providence
in their capturing Europeans and others and condemning them to
slavery. I can find neither proof nor reason that a difference in
color, features, or hair should distinguish any man as an unhappy
subject of bondage. “There were slaves of old,” ‘tis true, but this
no more proves the right of slavery now than the ancient monarchies
and despotic powers prove that we should have a despotic monarch
to rule with absolute power over us; the argument stands just as
good, and defies a gainsaying. Such arguments will not suffice for
the sons of liberty; we will leave them for an unenlightened or tyrannized
people; neither the one nor the other corresponds with our
ideal principles. I wish a consistency in and among all men, civil or
religious; a correspondence between principle and practice; and candidly
think without it the glory of any man or nation is proportionably
eclipsed: incongruity is a disparagement in any case whatever.
I blush at the conduct of many who are freemen in principle; have
declared for and supported the cause of liberty; and still persist in
holding their fellow creatures in perpetual bondage. I agree that
“slaves are a man's property;” his arbitrary but not his just property,
and no human law will look upon them as such. The law of nature
evidently allows every man his freedom; and certainly any law is inhuman
and unjust that counteracts the law of God in nature; hence
no just law can entail civil slavery on any part of the human species
whatever. You “bought your slaves.” True, “this, is a hardship;”
but on whom? More on the poor slaves than you; I had much
rather lose my money than my liberty. He who sold you the slaves had
no just right to sell the liberties of men, for he sold the rights which
the law of God in nature and our country declare to be the due of
those he sold. Is it any argument that I should not recover my property
or rights because I have heretofore been unjustly kept out of
them? Suppose my father before me was kept unjustly from his
rights, and they were sold through various hands: if I can prove my
rights, show my heirship and just claim, it would be arbitrary and
unjust in any judge or jury not to give the verdict in my favor. And,
pray, what rights under heaven are so interesting and desirable as
liberty, which every body knows is the due of every man? Here
is the poor slave under the despotic authority of his master; 'tis
out of his power to get redress; he looks up with sorrow under oppression;
dare not speak for himself under pain of many lashes from
a merciless, cruel hand; and still we give judgment against the forlorn
sufferer, that another shall hold his rights from him and his posterity;
and this against the plainest remonstrances that equity and
justice, joined with reason and humanity, can give upon the firm
principles of inalienable rights in nature's law.

Were we in their predicament, what prayers could we lift to Heaven
that our usurpers might only have human compassion! How should
we wish some way for redress! We should view ourselves the most
cruelly treated. How hard, we should think, the hearts of rulers
not to feel for our situation of bondage and misery, and at least to
mitigate, if not relieve, our sufferings. To see husbands and wives
torn asunder forever; to behold parents and children parted, no more
to see each other; transported to distant States or islands, there to
languish out their days in sorrow—is enough to shock humanity. O
avarice, full of all cruelty, when wilt thou let men feel for others as
for themselves? We sing the songs of liberty, which sound to foreign
lands. When shall America indeed be a free country? My dear
sir, none are so blind as those blinded by the dust of interest, or who
will not see. Let every man, if he can, lay his hand upon his heart
and appeal to God, conscience, and his country, and say, “Freedom is
not the just due of every man.” If he does, he must shut his eyes
or blush.

A FREEMAN.ANNAPOLIS,November 8, 1790.

The controversy between Mr. Cooper and “A True
Friend to the Union,” after continuing for some time,
was brought to a close by the withdrawal of the latter
from the field. Another article will now be given,
showing that Mr. Cooper had gained the victory:

For the Maryland Gazette.TO MY CORRESPONDENT, A FRIEND TO THE UNION:

Though you
have taken your “leave of the subject,” I must beg leave to make a
few remarks in answer to your last.

I confess I think it high time for you to give up all appearance of
opposition to liberty, and hope no friend to the union will ever
attempt to fasten the iron yoke of bondage on any human creature.
He that strikes at liberty strikes at the Constitution and foundation
of the Union.

Your apology, or reason for not answering my arguments, stands
just for nothing, if I understand “right.” Such a side-stroke might,
with some propriety, be advanced in favor of the oppressed, who cannot
come at their “right between individuals,” or any other way, in a
domestic or civil sense. Why is not some method “adopted in political
government” to remedy this disgraceful evil? Is it the want of
power or of will? I conceive they “could,” if they “would,” empower
every man in the State who can show his lawful claim to come at and
recover his right; and I am truly sorry that any American should be
unwilling to allow every individual his just claim. An Indian or a
Negro should have his due; nay! 'tis all old adage, “Give a dog his due.”
Justice demand, it deny it who can; freedom is the just due of
every man, hence 'tis unjust and arbitrary not to grant it.

What do you mean by a “curse metaphorically?” Perhaps you
mean it figures out a curse to come; this is more awful and dreadful
than as I understood you. Let me, without any appearance of prejudice
to or against color, features, or hair, ask: “What kind of freedom
would it be, and what right have we to bring it about on exportation?”
Sir, we have no right to banish any man unless he
has previously violated some law which inflicts this punishment as
due for his crime. A contrary sentiment, cannot correspond with the
idea that all men are born equally free, and stand upon equal ground
in point of human rights to liberty. But where would you export
them to? They are as much Americans now as we; and we are as
much Europeans as they are Africans. Nothing but a mind biased by
partiality or prejudice can countermand or contemn this idea or argument.
Did you ever read Clarkson's Essay on the Impolicy of the African
Slave-trade, and on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species?
If it would have any influence, I would recommend it to you and
every friend to his country and fellow-creatures. I think every reader
of it must feel for the oppressed, and blush for the oppressor. Be
advised by your friend to give that essay an attentive reading if you
can procure it.

Probably, my thus writing gives disgust to numbers; but I must
adhere to reason, truth, and equity. Any man who will refute my
arguments already advanced, and those which I still have to advance,
and also offer just reasons on the contrary question, very possibly will
make me his proselyte; if I know myself, I am open to conviction
upon this or any other subject whatever. Let me not be condemned
by those who would wish advocates for freedom to be shot like a
squirrel; but if any think me in an error, they should convince me
by argument.

Your observation, “the press is free,” is matter of great pleasure
to freemen; the liberties of the people depend in a great measure
upon the freedom of the press. Old Guttenberg and Faustus, the inventors
of printing in Mentz, should never be forgotten by those
who wish the rights and privileges of the people pointed out to the
public and defended. Through this medium justice and truth maintain
their cause, and error gets the lash of reason and argument.

Gentlemen and free citizens, the greater part, far the greater part
of you, cannot disapprove the friendly defense of liberty in favor of a
helpless, abject, and almost friendless race. I am stunned with astonishment
to think that any should fly in the face of the most equitable
principles our country and humane feelings can advance in support
of the rights of men. But there is an absurd prejudice which
predominates over the minds of members, which will not acknowledge
that an Indian or a negro should have justice done them; or
that liberty or life is as dear to them as to us.

I cannot think such men ignorantly presume negroes are not men
or human creatures; yet they say freedom is the due of all men. Why,
then, in the name of common sense or reason, do they contradict
themselves, and deny that right to the poor forlorn creatures?

But, to harp a little more on that despicable practice of transporting
slaves as chattels to distant parts, making their merchandise of
human flesh. I lately had the pleasure of being in company with a
respectable gentleman from Charleston, S. C., who informs me that
the humane citizens of feeling there are surprised and grieved at the
numerous public sales of Negroes from Maryland and elsewhere.
Must it not be a tyrannical heart that partakes in such a traffic?
Who would not shudder to go on board a vessel where such a cargo
was, and there see the streaming eyes, the breaking hearts, the dejected
unintelligent accents of lamentation among men, women, and
children—the husband and the wife, the parent and the child, parted by
tyranny and avarice, no more allowed to see or speak with their
nearest connections forever? Shocking! shocking! And is Maryland
guilty of this atrocious scene? Let every man of feeling use his
influence to put a period to this shameful practice.

I shall not question my friend for taking his leave of the subject.
But I do believe he is convinced of the propriety of my arguments
and justice of my cause. Under this impression I shall conclude,
hoping the cause of liberty will annually gain numerous friends and
advocates.

Liberty is the first star of glory in our Commonwealth; it has,
much emerged from its total, yet remains under a considerable, eclipse.
May Providence hasten the day when despotism and tyranny shall be
done away, and this luminary, liberty, be no more obscured by arbitrary
power or any other opaque body whatever.

So, for the present,
I drop anchor, wishing liberty to all, and great glory to America,
where I hope ever to claim a title to citizenship as A FREEMAN.

The bold utterances and unanswerable arguments advanced
by Mr. Cooper in behalf of the colored slave in
the United States provoked a spirit of wrath in some of
those who could not set aside or confute his reasonings;
and one of the number, under the signature of “Abaris,”
attempted by ridicule and low sentiment to express, in
verse, the feeling that had been aroused among those
opposed to the abolition of slavery. It was published
in the Maryland Gazette, issued at Annapolis, Md., only
a short time previous to Mr. Cooper's change of his
ministerial field of labor to Alexandria, Va., which was
in the early part of the year 1791. Mr. Cooper replied
to the writer in the columns of the same paper; and in
some respects struck a more decided blow upon the
advocates of human slavery. His reply follows:

For the Maryland Gazette, Annapolis.MESSRS. GREEN:

In your last week's paper I discovered a piece of
poetry, doggerel doubly distilled, directed to me, with the signature
“A. B. A. R. I. S.” Had the performance been any way genteel or
considerable, I could consent to address to the author a reply; but as it
is an opprobrious subterfuge, I shall only make a few, cursory remarks
upon his production, and offer them through your impartial
press, if you please, to his and my readers.

I mean to make his great signature the text of my present strictures.
Abaris signifies “a Scythian, and priest of Apollo,” who was endued
by that god with the gift of prophecy; and also, by virtue of an arrow
or dart given him by Apollo, he traveled swiftly through the air without
eating, and gave oracles in all parts.” Probably he has prophesied
in divining that my “schemes for liberty may be effected in a
short time;” though I expect not too soon nor by the “decree of
fate,” but by the wisdom of civil government, under the providence of
God. I am no heathen philosopher, ascribing results to fate, but a
professor of the Christian religion.

His whole oracle seems to be delivered while he was flying through
the air, having no argument as a foundation to settle on. It most
certainly is a labyrinth, and a mazy flight; but the virtue of his
arrow or wings fail him before his oracles are spread in all parts. He
should take heed lest his fall proves to be in the “dirt” or “hog-stye.”
As to fear of a “hungry belly,” by-the-by, “Abaris,” we are
told, flies without eating; probably he has engrossed the power of
hunger as he wishes to do the power of equity and reason. I think
would he take a little food of instruction it might add to his prudence,
and enable him to give wiser and better oracles. I have been conjecturing,
Apollo gave him a crooked arrow or a very blunt dart, as I
see he goes on so slowly and awkwardly; it would take him an age at
his present rate of flying to spread his oracles through the continent
of equitable and reasonable minds. I don't know what success he
might meet in a despotic mind, or country of tyrannical power, where
avarice substitutes prejudice, ambition, and hypothesis for argument,
justice, truth, and reason. Americans should be better informed than
to adhere to artifices.

He signifies, in his rhymes, that were slaves liberated they would
go in “rags, dirt, be lazy, steal, and court the gallows,” but the greatest
alarm appears to be the “black wives,” which he has properly
thrown under a note of admiration. He ought to know that many
“who've been set free” are industrious, civil people in the circle where
they move. And of the same style of life I think he will find as
Bernbo says: “White men be lazy, steal, and come to gallows too.”
In a general way they would not steal so much in freedom as in
bondage; some masters press them to it by almost starving them, as
is frequently the case, though not so general as formerly, giving them
five or six ears of corn a day for their whole support, and no time
to grind and cook that but as taken from the hours allotted for sleep!
If one out of twenty should steal, they are all branded with the epithet
of “rogue;” and, poor creatures, if ever so honest or innocent, they
can get no redress nor have their character retrieved. In the greatest
sufferings, and under the greatest reproaches, having no character
to gain or lose, I have wondered they were not worse than they are!
Had they liberty, the case would be different; they would have a
character to think of, and interest would stir them up to industry.
There is certainly a better principle in them than Abaris is aware of.
The laws of the land would rule and keep them in civil order equally
with the whites in the same sphere of life; and as they improved,
which they are capable of doing, would still shine in society more and
more respectably. I am very sure, Abaris himself is not half a match
for Phillis Wheatley (a Negro girl) in poetry; her poems are published
to the world, and are worth reading.

I am probably as much principled against the whites taking
“black wives” or husbands as Abaris himself. My sons and
daughters; “shall be better taught;” I hope his will, also; then we
need not fear from that quarter. If that is ever the case, which
may be, the whites and not the blacks will be to blame; they will
never be compelled to intermarry; it must be a low choice of their
own. Let us not blame the innocent, but the guilty.

I think my friend Abaris had better never appear again till he has
arguments to defend his opinions or refute those he comes forth
against, unless he resolves to be slain by Perseus, which was the lot
of old Abaris. Perseus also delivered Andromeda from a sea monster
that would have devoured her. May Liberty, like that fair
daughter of Cephas, be delivered from Tyranny, that huge sea-monster!

I have no desire of another poem from my correspondent, unless
he first learns better how to compose it, and on some argument, too,
that may be worth reading. Nevertheless, be assured I am not
offended, but am ready to receive, at any time, a friendly letter from
him (he may change his signature, if he pleases); but should he
descend from gentility to groveling, I shall take but little notice of
him, further than, even then, to be his friend and well-wisher in all
equitable cases; and, were he in bondage, would as freely rescue him
from unjust slavery if I could as I would liberty from tyranny, or
as Perseus did Andromeda from the sea monster.

I am, still, A FREEMAN.

Mr. Cooper had been in his new charge in Alexandria,
VA., but a few months before he felt called upon to use
the public press in giving utterance to his sentiments
against Negro slavery. We present the following letters,
the first written for the Maryland Journal, the
second, for the Virginia Gazette:

ALEXANDRIA, April 18, 1791.MESSRS. GODDARD AND ANGELL:

In your Journal of the 12th
instant I discover a piece with the signature “Lawyer,” in justification
of slavery and opposition to liberty. I wish to make a few
cursory remarks on that gentleman's essay, and if you please, to
offer them through the medium of your press to the candid consideration
of those who are interestedly or consciously concerned upon
the subject of slavery.

If Lawyer was in the predicament of a slave, no doubt his opinion
would be as far from its present state as liberty is from bondage. The
farmer's observation, that “opinions change with circumstances,” is
very just. Truth and justice compose the standard for a due judgment,
and not our secular interest and prejudices. We seldom hear
any but slaveholders, or those under their influence, oppose the equity
of enfranchising the abject sufferers under bondage. This is a clear
demonstration that they are more influenced by interest and prejudice
than by reason, truth, and justice. Indifferent men are universally
acknowledged to be the most eligible judges in all cases of equity,
they not being biased by self-interest. Though, indeed, the cause of
liberty so plain that judicious, candid slaveholders generally acknowledge
slavery to be a violation of human rights.

I am surprised at Lawyer that he should fly to the Holy Scriptures
(the very book which teaches us the eternal rule of justice) in order
to vindicate the violation of the law of God in nature, and thereby
strive to justify men in their arbitrary despotism over the rights and
liberties of their fellow-creatures. This is the very book, gentlemen,
that teaches us to “do unto all men as we would wish they should
do unto us.” It teaches us to let the oppressed go free, and shows
unto us the danger of oppression. See Eccles. iv, 1; Isa. i, 17; Prov
xxiv, 31.) Numerous texts could readily be brought in favor of this
cause. But to return to Lawyer's arguments. He certainly did not reflect
that, since bond-servants were allowed of as slaves in Scripture, the
dispensation of God's people is changed. Those to whom he alludes
were under the Mosaic, but we are under the Christian, dispensation.
Christ, when he came, expounded the spirituality of the law, and
clearly showed that many things which were vindicated by the letter
were done away by the spirit. See his sermon upon the Mount, also
various other parts of the New Testament, especially the gospels.
Some things were allowed of, by reason of the hardness of their
hearts and the wickedness of the people, which were not so intended
from the beginning nor so intended to the end, the evil of which is
fully manifested by the glorious light of the Gospel.

Would Lawyer presume to vindicate the customs of ancient times
as justifiable now? Would he say that the laws or rules of the Jews,
in the letter, should be enforced now? Then we must have a king
as well as a slave. God allowed them to have monarchs—not that
monarchy or slavery was providentially intended from the beginning.
Had the people conducted themselves right, they would have been
happy without a king or a slave. They took “the heathen round
about,” and “made them bondmen and bondmaids.” But who were
those heathen? Were they Negroes? I apprehend Negroes were
not round about Palestine or Judea, but far off in distant parts of
Africa. If Negroes were “the progeny of Canaan,” it could hardly
be the offspring of Canaan here made bondmen of; and if those
bondmen were Canaan's posterity which the Jews took round about
them, then the Negroes must be another race. Probably the bondmen
and bondmaids were in part the children of Abraham instead
of Canaan. Esau's posterity served Jacob's. Where did Ishmael's
descendants reside? Is Lawyer certain that those “slaves” were
not from Abraham through Ishmael or Esau? If not, his argument
is not worth a straw. How does he know but himself or many
worthy citizens are the offspring of Ishmael or Esau? Upon conjecture
the Algerines or others might plead the lawfulness of enslaving
us; and how should we disprove their plea, but that no one
part of the human race has a right to enslave another? Let the
ancient customs be what they might, and occasioned by this or that
circumstance, this is no plea of justification to us in the open rebellion
against the law of God in nature. Now, we are to adhere to truth,
justice, humanity, and reason. Our countrymen have long declared
“freedom to be the just due of every man.” All truly human laws
agree with the law of nature in every thing consistent with society;
both correspond with the divine law in the equitable principles of
granting every man his just due, which includes “freedom.” Unjust
or inhuman laws, hypotheses, and despotism, should never influence
our minds to consent that nature's just law is not to be regarded.

Had Lawyer the eloquence of a Demosthenes or Cicero he would
even then find it a hard task to justify the injustice of slavery, and
convince Americans that freedom is not their due equally with all
human kind.

Gentlemen, upon what principles could Lawyer reconcile himself
and posterity to be doomed to endless slavery? The thought of being
led captive in hard bondage makes nature recoil. Our feelings
shudder when we think of many who are toiling their lives away at
the galleys in Algiers. But we lose sensation when we think of the
poor blacks in the most cruel bondage. Have these poor creatures
no friends to sympathize with their distresses? The same that
wounds and pains us, wounds and pains them. All our feelings are
in them. Behold them toiling, sweating, fainting, bleeding, and dying
under the iron rod of oppression! Will no one speak a word for
those who dare not and cannot speak for themselves?

O compassion,
awake in the breasts of men! O justice and mercy, plead the
cause of the afflicted and oppressed! A STUDENT.

Mr. Cooper failed not to maintain the above principles,
in advocacy of freedom for the colored people of
the United States, both publicly and in private; and in
so doing awakened in some a spirit of opposition, which
at length was publicly manifested by one of the leaders
of the opposition, who boasted that “he was able to
defend slavery against any man.”

Immediately Mr. Cooper challenged him to come
forth to meet him in controversy, and, on the 17th of
November, published an article in the Virginia Gazette,
wherein he set forth “that it would be a difficult matter
for any one to defend the principles of slavery upon
reason or justice.” To this a reply was made, in the
same paper of the following week, under the signature
of “Love Truth,” which brought forth from Mr.
Cooper the following answer:

For the Virginia Gazette.To MR. LOVE TRUTH:SIR:

You observed in the last Gazette that my “piece of the 15th
inst., seemed to be aimed at somebody, yet thought it was Mr. Nobody's
business to answer it.” Then how came you to step into Mr.
Nobody's shoes, and do his work? O! but you give me to understand
that it is because the shoe fits you. Inasmuch as you “unfortunately
differ with me on the subject of slavery,” and are fearful that
I, without an answer, “might get wise in my own conceit,” you come
forth, wondrously, to humble me. I am thankful to be kept humble;
but I wanted wisdom also. I wished to have provoked the pen of
“somebody” to have come forth and taught his countrymen the
justice of slavery; to have shown us wherein it consists with equity,
reason, human rights, philosophy, or religion. You have made a
pompous stroke in your reply; but O, sir! you have not rent the veil
of ignorance; you have not overset my mistake or supposed error in
liberty; nor established somebody's self-confidence truth in slavery;
no, not by a single argument. Your address to me appears principally,
to be a composition of words darkening counsel without
knowledge.

If you were apprehensive I “might be wise in my own conceit,”
why did not you, or Mr. Somebody to aid you, show the fallacy of
my proposition: “Freedom the just due of every man!” I apprehend
it would be a hard task for me to prevent, by many answers,
your being wise in your own conceit, and as to Mr. Somebody, a
Paine or a Newton cannot prevent his own conceited wisdom.

You have “heard it somewhere positively asserted, that if the effect
be good, the cause that produced it must be good also.” And do
you affirm the contrary? Why did you not show us, or the person
who advanced it, his error? I have heard it, as an indisputable truth,
that a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit; and that “all
good effects spring from God as the productive cause;” and that
“God is the author of all good. Now, can you prove that any moral
good springs from an evil cause? If you can, or “Mr. Somebody”
to aid you, I shall gladly see your proofs, reasonings, and arguments.
But, sir, if you write again, let us have some kind of argument, either
to prove that I am wrong or that you are right. Sarcastic warmth
will never do honor to you, or your cause, neither stand in the place
of argument. By so doing, you will never convince me that it is
consistent with justice, charity, or, reason to deprive a human being
of his inalienable rights any more than to deprive you of your most
lawful profession.

If you can prove clearly that civil and domestic slavery is right
then I am sure kings and bishops, in civil monarchy and ecclesiastical
hierarchy, as well as the doctrine of passive obedience and non-resistance,
may bring in their despotic claims.

Sir, I shall leave you at present. I assure you, I am your friend;
and were you in Algiers, in Africa, under the toil of bondage, and
were your children to be subject, after you, to perpetual slavery, to
fatigue and labor under task-masters from day to day till death relieved
your pain and set you free from such affliction, I would as
warmly plead your right of liberty and wish the iron yoke broken
off from your neck; I would as gladly see you free in the enjoyment
of your natural rights as any others. And why should not Africans
in America have their right as well as Americans in Africa? State
the case closely, and do not all your feelings recoil at the thought?
Then we will close the subject. Do unto all as you would they
should do unto you. This is the most infallible law or rule of equity.

I am still, and hope to remain, A FREEMAN.November 28, 1791.

As the legislation of the Methodist Episcopal Church
on this grave subject has been fully set forth in her
Discipline, and the action of her General Conferences
been given by her historians, from time to time, the
reader is referred to them for information on this
branch of the subject; while it shall be our work to
mark the facts connected with the internal developments
of the opposition raised in certain quarters by
the persistent cry of the faithful ministry of the
Church, freedom is the right of every man.

It will be seen by reference to Stevens's History of
the Methodist Episcopal Church** History of the Methodist Episcopal Church, vol. iv, p. 176.
that Rev. Ezekiel Cooper proposed, in the General Conference of 1800,
“that a committee be appointed to prepare an affectionate
address to the Methodist Societies in the United
States, stating the evils of the spirit and practice of
slavery, and the necessity of doing away the evil as far
as the laws of the respective States will allow; and that
the said address be laid before the Conference for their
consideration, and if agreed to, be signed by the bishops
in behalf of the Conference.” The committee
was appointed, the address prepared, adopted by the
General Conference, and sent forth. It provoked great
resentment in Charleston, S. C., leading to the following
movements of the enemies of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in that city, and of the defenders of her
legislation against slavery. First appeared the rector
of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church in a note to the
Charleston Times:

MESSRS. COX & SHEPPARD:

You are requested to inform the public
through the medium of the Times, that Trinity Church, in Hazel
Street, is not under the jurisdiction of Dr. Coke or Bishop Asbury,
and is not nor ever was connected with the Methodist meeting in
Cumberland Street. I deem this information necessary, in consequence
of some recent transactions in that meeting-house, and which
at present very properly interests the public mind, lest a similarity
of names should confound the innocent with the guilty.

P. MATHEWS, Minister of Trinity Church. October 28.

To this, one of the Methodist ministers immediately
replied:

MESSRS. COX & SHEPPARD: GENTLEMEN:

I desire through the medium of your paper to join
issue with the Rev. P. Mathews, in assuring the public at large that
there is no connection between Trinity Church and the Methodist
Episcopal Church in Cumberland Street, and must add, at the same
time, that I should esteem the opinion of there being any connection
between them as a more serious injury than the transient displeasure
of a misinformed, but otherwise a generous, populace.

GEORGE DOUGHARTY.CHARLESTON, October 29, 1800.

The Rev. Mr. Dougharty had prior to this suffered
from the violence of a mob, and a more particular account
thereof will soon be given in a letter from the
Rev. John Harper, the colleague of Mr. Dougharty, to
Ezekiel Cooper. Such was the excitement that Mr.
Harper was constrained to make a sworn deposition in
regard to the whole affair, in so far as he was connected
with it. We give it entire, together with his annotations
thereon.

To the Public.

In order to do away the prejudices of the public, the following
statement of facts is humbly submitted to their perusal:

That late in the month of June last, or early in July, to the best of
my knowledge, on being informed that his honor the intendant of
this City was in possession of an address, sent out by the General
Conference of the ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, assembled
in the city of Baltimore in May last, I forthwith went to the
intendant, accompanied by a friend, and desired to see the said address,
which he, the intendant, showed me. That this was the first
time I knew that such an address was composed or circulated. That
soon after I asked Mr. Timothy, printer, if he had seen such an address,
who told me that he had; that some weeks before it had been
in many of the newspapers which he had received from the northward,
and, having found one of the papers which contained the address,
he gave it to me. That I did not know that I should ever
have seen the address in any other way than in newspapers, until
about the 8th of September, when I received several boxes of
new books from Philadelphia, and on opening some of them I found
a few printed copies of the above-mentioned address. That as I had
seen one copy of it (the address) in a newspaper in possession of the
intendant, and another in a newspaper which Mr. Timothy gave me,
and as Mr. Timothy told me that many of them had come in newspapers
from the northward, and as I supposed that many of the inhabitants
of this city were subscribers for the Northern newspapers,
who would, of course, see the address, I did not think it criminal or
wrong to give away a few copies of it to persons whom I believed to
be persons of prudence and respectability. That on the 22d instant
the intendant asked me whether I had any more copies of the address
in my possession. I told him I did not know; that there were
some boxes of books which I had not opened, and that there might
be some copies of the address in them. The intendant then proposed
waiting upon me at a convenient time, when I might open the boxes
in his presence. I told him if he would come in I would open them
immediately. He came in, and I opened the boxes in his presence
and found, I suppose, six or eight sheets of the above-mentioned address.
I did not count them. The intendant said he thought they
ought to he destroyed. I replied: Sir, if you think proper, we will
walk back and burn them. He (the intendant) then went with me
into the kitchen, carrying the said addresses in his hand, and cast
them into the fire, reserving only one or two copies for his own use.
That I never showed or read the above-mentioned address to any
black or colored person whatsoever, nor do I know of any member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church who has showed or read it to any
black or colored persons.

That whatever my sentiments may be on the subject of the address,
I have ever thought it my duty in my intercourse with slaves to
inculcate humility, submission, diligence, and faithfulness, as duties
becoming their station, and calculated to render them safe and happy;
nor have I ever desired to see that which the address recommends
carried into effect by any other than lawful, honorable, and innocent
means, and not by mobs, tumults, insurrections, or any means of so
unhappy a tendency.

JOHN HARPER.Sworn before me, this 30th of October, 1800. CHARLES TEW, J. P.

Following the deposition above given, Mr. Harper
says:

The public will observe from the above statement of facts, 1. That
I was not present at the framing of this address. 2. That it was in
circulation in this city in public newspapers before I knew that any
such address existed. 3. That it is more than probable that as the
address was circulated in the Northern newspapers, they were received
by sundry persons in this city, besides his honor the intendant,
and Mr. Timothy. I add, 4thly, that I am authorized to say, and I
shall name my authority when lawfully required so to do, that a
gentleman in this city received a number of the addresses from the
northward and distributed them, and that they were in circulation
during the week of the election; and further, that a number of them
were carried to a public coffee-house in this city and distributed
among a number of gentlemen who were assembled there.

Now, I ask the candid and discerning citizens of Charleston if these
addresses have been received by so many persons from the northward,
beside myself, put into the hands of so many of the citizens,
what assurance have these citizens given that they have made
no imprudent use of them? and whether any such assurance has
been demanded of them? I ask, further, what justice or mercy is
there in singling out one individual and holding him up as the object
of public indignation and popular rage, when others who have done
the same thing are suffered to pass unnoticed?

I would entreat those who have manifested the greatest zeal
against me to put themselves for a moment in my place, and consider
what would be their feelings if they were circumstanced as I
am. I am almost a stranger in this city, although not in the city of
Baltimore; I have a wife and six children, the eldest of whom is
not yet eleven years, and the youngest not five weeks old. In this
city are the means of our sustenance. I must be destitute of all the
feelings of a man if I am not interested in its tranquillity and happiness;
nor can I consider an attempt to rob me of the good will of its
inhabitants (on which, under God, I am dependent for my peace and
safety, and in a great measure for the necessaries and comforts of
life) in any other light than as one of the greatest acts of cruelty
that can possibly be exercised upon one. The prayer of my heart is,
that God may forgive those who have attempted it; and if ever they are
strangers in a strange land, may they meet with those who know the
heart of a stranger and not with the sons of cruelty and violence.

October 25. JOHN HARPER.

We now give Mr. Harper's letter to Mr. Cooper:

DEAR BROTHER:

The five boxes of books by Captain Wheland and
three by Captain Sweetzer came safe to hand, but still we are in great
want of hymn books. I believe you cannot send us too many of
them. You will have a good remittance from Brother Blanton after
our Conference.

We have lately had a good deal of trouble on account of the
address from the General Conference on the subject of emancipation.
My house was beset on the 22d of last month by, I suppose, two
hundred angry men, with a lawyer of note at their head, who uttered
great threats. The Sunday night following, after preaching, and
after I had come out of the church and was on my way home, I was
encompassed with a numerous band of the “Champions of Liberty,”
but was defended from the effects of their rage by some friends,
who now bear the marks of hard blows as the effect of their interposition.
The next evening, Monday, there was a public prayer-meeting.
I was not present, and but few of our friends attended. After
it was over the mob got hold of Brother Dougharty, struck him,
threw him down, dragged him to a pump and pumped water on him.
The two following days appearances grew more and more threatening.
False reports were industriously propagated which induced me to publish
in the papers of last Friday a vindication of my conduct, which
I enclose to you with Mr. Mathews's attack and Brother Dougharty's
repulse, which is all the newspaper work we have had. Before I
published my vindication, it was the general opinion of my friends
that I ought to remove from this place in order to preserve my life.
I had made up my mind to do so, and expected to have my affairs
arranged so as to have taken a passage for myself and family with
Captain Sweetzer, so that if the Lord had not stilled the madness of
the people, instead of seeing this paper you would have seen me with
a very numerous train. However, I know not how it will be with
us. I believe the storm is not yet over. Although my enemies are
partly silenced on the subject of the address, yet their attention is
turned to that part of the Discipline which respects slavery, and to
Mr. Rice's address to the Convention of Kentucky.

These books have been read in the City Council, and it is known that
I have circulated them. They are said by the highest authority to
be highly inimical to the tranquillity of the country. Some magistrates
of the highest respectability have given it as their opinion that
we need not expect peace in this State unless we abjure our principles
respecting slavery, contained in the form of Discipline. There is
one striking peculiarity in this contest. I have done something very
bad, yet my bitterest enemies dare not lay it before the public, to let
them see how bad it is, nor dare I, in my defense—so that lookers-on
know not what we are fighting about.

It is the general opinion that if Mr. Asbury comes here it will be
at the peril of his life; and I think so, too, unless the mountain is
covered with horses of fire and chariots of fire. I thank you for the
kind offer you made of your services, and I expect I will before long
make use of it. My kind love to sister Dickins and family. I remain,
dear brother,

Yours affectionately, J. HARPER.

The address referred to in the above letter contained
the action of the General Conference of 1800, and was
issued from the Methodist Book Concern in Philadelphia
in tract form, and was circulated through the
Societies in all the States. The enemies of the Church
in the South also circulated these tracts, and provoked
opposition to the spiritual as well as civil welfare of the
colored people. An illustration of this is given in the
action of the civil authority of the city of Richmond,
Virginia, in 1802, whereby the blacks were denied the
privilege of attending the Sabbath evening services
held by the Methodists. The account is taken from a
letter written by the Rev. Alexander McCaine, the pastor
of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Richmond for that
year, addressed to the Rev. George Roberts, then stationed
in Philadelphia. He says:

TO MY DEAR BROTHER ROBERTS:

When we were about parting last
spring, I remember there was something said about writing on both
sides. Hitherto I have postponed it, as I had nothing agreeable to relate.
When I came here I found a small, disorderly Society—a small congregation
of a Sunday, and at night not more than four or five whites
to begin with. It was not long before I was obliged to stop some
and expel others. This brought on me the lash of tongues, and from
within and without I had not peace, I may say, for one day. Methodism
was despised by the great, complained against to the civil magistrates
by the middle, and persecuted and stoned by the lower classes.
They have striven by every method to stop our night meetings, but in
vain; and after repeated complaints to the mayor of the city, he
came, and to Brother Coulling spoke against it, calling it “abominable
enthusiasm,” etc. But when he found he could not scare us to desist,
nor legally prevent it, he said he would stop the blacks, and if there
were five people of color after dark in our meeting he would fine me
and the rest three dollars per head, or I must receive thirty lashes on
the bare back. Being invited, the next Sunday afternoon he came to
hear me, and before him I forbade the blacks from coming, as there
was a law against it. Such a place I never was in before; the
collections, public and private, for a long time would not near pay
my board. However, I hope to scuffle along, and sometimes I think
I will see better days. I am encouraged the more as these disturbances
in and out of Society have, I trust, come to a head. Many have been
turned out, and now I hope their places will be filled up by those
who by a steady continuance in well-doing will put to silence the
ignorance of foolish men.

I have, thank God, enjoyed health since I came here. I hope you
and yours have been equally blessed in the midst of sickness. I
think I feel nothing but a desire to live and die for God. O, brother,
pray for me; I need the prayers of all. Give my love to Sister Roberts.
Write to me, if you please.

I remain, yours affectionately, ALEXANDER MCCAINE.September 29, 1802.

We shall close this chapter with an Ode on Slavery
designed for publication, and sent to Ezekiel Cooper
with that intent. Though written by J. P. more than
eighty years ago, and therefore neither new nor polished,
it deserves a place in the historic annals of the
Church. We give a portion of the poem, withholding
the full name of the author. He says:

When first I crossed the wide Atlantic mainAnd sought Columbia's happy shore to gain,A land of peace and freedom I expected,Where none of Adam's race would be neglected;For on Britannia's plains I heard the sound,Through all the Eastern climes it echoed round,That in America all men were free:Thus stood the firm Congressional decree.But soon I saw the truth which Homer sings,That principle and practice are two things;For tho' the maxim stands, All men are free,In practice they declare, It shall not be.A race of men who lived in peace before,By cruel hands are dragged from Afric's shore,And in America are doomed to dwellIn chains, by old Apollyon forged in hell.Nor is this all. Their children (yet unborn)Are doomed to cruel bondage in their turn;The whip, the scourge, the scanty pittance meet;And cringe beneath an overseer's feet!With grief I saw how they were bought and sold:The wife, the child, the husband, young and old,Without distinction they are doomed to pain,And drag through life the horrid, slavish chain!'Twould far surpass the wisdom of a manThe full extent of all their grief to scan;Their bitter anguish, pain, and deep distressThe powers of eloquence cannot express!Suppose thyself reduced to such a state,And bound through life to drudge both soon and late;Suppose thy loving wife torn from thy side,Thy children sold to feed another's pride!With hunger, cold, and nakedness to spendTheir wretched lives, till life itself should end—Say, would not such a scene be worse than death,And make you wish you ne'er had drawn your breath?And are they men? Like us the very same!For from one stock the different branches came;Alike susceptible of joy and grief,Of ease and pain, of misery and relief!Why then should kindred dust be so abused?Of all the sweets of social life refused,Why should a part of Adam's fallen raceReduce their brethren under such disgrace?Is it because their color is not whiteThat they're deprived of every human right?Or do their sable numbers so increaseThat policy prohibits their release?'Twas thus the Israelites in Pharaoh's landWere made to groan beneath the tyrant's hand,Till Moses, at Jehovah's word, arose,Divinely taught to vindicate their cause!See how the venerable man of GodApproaches Egypt's monarch with his rod;Behold him stand! and numerous signs are givenTo prove his mission is derived from heaven!But hardened Pharaoh, with his hostile band,Will neither hear, nor own Jehovah's hand;They cry, “We don't the God of Israel know,And, therefore, will not let the people go.”(Now, as there's nothing new beneath the sun,So slavery prevails as it begun;For sure, if men the God of Israel knew,They'd render unto every man his due.)But stand and see the terrors of the Lord,When once he takes and whets his glittering sword!Their streams and stagnant pools are turned to blood,And all the land in deep confusion stood!The fly, the pestilence, the fire, and hail,With horror through the land of Ham prevail;His tenfold judgments spread the dread alarm,And Israel's freed by an Almighty arm!Now God is good, the true eternal Pan!Alike benevolent to every man;He sees distress with pity's softest eye,And with compassion hears the mourner cry.And shall the men who fought in freedom's causeSo basely violate her sacred laws?And shall not God, the holy, just, and wise,To plead the cause of innocence arise?He hath a controversy with the land;His armies stand arranged at his command;The fly, the pestilence, the brandished sword,Proclaim the awful terrors of the Lord!Afflictions rise not merely from the dust,But plagues are sent to punish the unjust;Who will not own their day of visitationMust meet his anger in their desolation!America! be wise; revere the rod;Break off thy sins, and turn to Jacob's God.Who knows but he, whose anger seems to burn,May from the fierceness of his anger turn.Arise betimes, and break off every yoke,Let go the oppressed before you feel his stroke;For he who captive leads must captive be,And he who freedom gives shall be made free.You who profess to love the Lord indeed,Who are from sin and Satan's bondage freed,Will you refuse to let the captive go,As if you did not Israel's Saviour know?The man who did ten thousand talents oweHis lord forgave, and let the debtor go;But when his fellow-servant he abusedHis lord was wroth, and further grace refused.So will the sovereign Lord of earth and skiesDeal by the men who mercy's rules despise;For judgment without mercy they shall knowWho to their fellow dust no mercy show!